Eléonore in love
by Hyakimaru
Summary: The love story of Eléonore de la Vallière, or how the ice queen melts and falls in love... Rated T for sexual references.
1. Chapter 1

Eléonore in love

Disclaimer: I don't own Zero no Tsukaima/ The Familiar of Zero... think about it... if I did why I would be writing a fanfic?

Note: this is my first fan fiction, I'm mainly doing this as a way to improve my English so any kind of criticism is welcomed.

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Chapter 1

It was another day in the life of Eléonore de la Vallière, another crappy day to be precise, the reason? it appears that her little sister Louise had finally confessed her love for her familiar… a commoner, to make matters worse he accepted her feelings and the two were now officially lovers… usually that would be enough to make her angry but it didn't end there, the couple actually had the nerve to ask her parents for their approval to their marriage… and… they accepted it… apparently since the boy had been given a title by the queen and even owned a few properties, it was all right to simply ignore all the things they were taught since childhood about social status and allow the girl to be married to an (ex)commoner .

It was so frustrating, this wasn't supposed to happen, Louise should not be allowed to marry before her…ok… actually that was the main reason of her anger, her baby sister was going to get married before her, a fact that make her feel … old, she was now on her late twenties, unmarried and without a man in her life, sure she had a respectable job and was actually pretty successful on it, but it wasn't supposed to be this way, she was to be married ages ago with her (ex)fiancé, but he had the nerve to call off their engagement without even explaining himself.

For that reason she now was in some commoner bar drinking her woes away, sure it was strange that she picked this kind of place, but it was better than being seen drunk in a more sophisticated place, after all she had a reputation to protect.

"_Give me another one of these… and make it stronger"_. She asked to the bartender

"_But miss you have already drank to ma…"_ (Glare)… "_Right away miss"._

She looked at the bartender while waiting for her drink and noticed… this was really a strange bar, the bartender was a drag queen that was all buff while the waitresses all dressed and acted like… ladies of dubious morality. Maybe this was really not the place for her, but… the hell with it, they had the liquor she needed and that was all that mattered.

"_Here you go miss"_. The bartender handed over her new drink.

"_Thanks_." She answered coldly

While she was preparing to get into her drink a man that had seated next to her a little while ago spoke to her.

"Wow… _I never seen a woman drink that much before, yet you look completely unfazed… things like that would definitely give the wrong impression… but I like it."_

She turned around to find out the insolent that had the nerve to call her a drunk, only to find a boy who probably wasn't even in his twenties yet , he was tall, a little muscular (but nothing like the bartender, that's for sure), his skin had a dark tone and his hair was red(which meant he was probably a germanian), normally she would just glare away every person that tried to speak with her, but to be honest the boy was quite a sight for sore eyes… and her eyes were quite sore, so she figured out she might as well talk to him, what could possibly go wrong anyway.

_"Hmpf… none of your business, at least I'm old enough to drink."_

"_Hey I may not look like it but I'm actually 21."_

"_Still a kid compared to me anyway." Now that was shocking,_he definitely didn't look 21.

_"Ah come on how much can the difference be, 2, 3 years at most?"_

_"No, don't be ridiculous I am actually… too old."_She said getting depressed again.

"_… come on don't get all depressed on me, this is a bar, people come here to have fun."_

_"...Or to drown all their worries in alcohol."_

"_Ah come on… what could possibly be worrying such a beautiful lady…"_

_"What worries me… you wanna know what worries me… well I'll tell you…"_

Following those words came a long winded speech about everything she thought was wrong with her life, her little sister, her parents, her (ex) fiancé, and everything else. Usually she never would even talked to someone she just met about her life, let alone her private life, but the liquor she had been drinking all night had finally begin to take its effect.

_"…so to resume I'm old, lonely, the only thing I'm good at is a job I don't want, most people I know hate me or think I'm annoying, I've never had a boyfriend or even kissed someone … and my breasts are small, it's so frustrating!."_She said angrily, little after that, she regained her composure took a long zip at her drink and got depressed again.

The boy was surprised… he definitely did not expect such an outburst, the woman he was talking to looked so serious and mature he could not believe what just happened, but then again everybody had their problems.

"_Ok… sigh…. Look… I know I hardly know you so I'm probably not the best person to say this but… Chill out!, so what if your fiancé dumped you, just find another one… so what if your parents made you get a job because you were too old to marry, It's not like they ask for your age before you do it so it doesn't matter and there's nothing wrong with working or anything … and what's the problem with your little sister getting married before you, if she found love already just let her be… I mean if she's as bad as you described her and still managed to find love in her life, then so can you"._

Eléonore was shocked, not only he had actually listened to her rant, but also his words actually made her feel a little better.

"_And about your breasts, sure they are probably smaller than every other woman in this bar, but I still think they look nice… although you could show them a little more, that dress definitely doesn't do them any favors."_

Eléonore blushed red like a tomato, much like her little sister usually does, and could only mutter a little "_shut up_" before going back to her glass, drinking the last of its contents.

They kept talking and drinking for a while, much to her surprise the boy actually could hold an excellent conversation, they talked about every topic she could think and not only he actually had something interesting to say about each but he also actually listened to everything she had to say, not something you'd expect from a boy picking girls on a bar.

After a few hours had passed she looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was quite late, she had work tomorrow and for some reason didn't fell like drinking anymore, so she paid her tab, and said her goodbyes to the boy she just been talking to. But as soon as she turned around a couple of arms sneaked up behind her and started to grope her breasts.

"_Yep, quite nice, they are actually not that small and have a really cute shape; you definitely should get a new dress."_

The boy behind her said that in a rather serious voice, one that seemed to hide an invitation… an invitation that she refused with an elbow to his gut and a "hmpf… pervert", before walking away irritated, leaving the bar and the boy behind, disappearing into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The day after the incident with the boy, Eléonore found herself drinking again in the same bar and talking to the same boy, he had apologized for his behavior the other night an putted the blame on the liquor they had been drinking, usually that wouldn't enough of an apology for her, but… he looked quite sincere and even offered to pay for the drinks that night, since the conversation the other day had been nice before 'that' happened, she accepted his offer and started to talk with him.

After that they began meeting on the bar every day, they weren't planned meetings or anything, they just met without any form of compromise to talk about stuff and have a few drinks; she had found a few things about him, first his name was Alphonse, although he liked to be called Al, second he refused to reveal his status to her, always changing the subject when the topic came in, she had figured out that he was a noble since he carried a wand, but judging by his clothes he wasn't a very outstanding one, third he was indeed a germanian as she suspected, was only in Tristain for a short while and would return to his homeland eventually.

She had noticed that sometimes during their conversation he would drop hints about wanting to become more 'intimate' with her, usually that would earn anyone a punishment horrible enough to never want to try again, yet in her current state Eléonore found the idea of a young boy making passes at her rather… thrilling, even if he was only after what was below her skirt and she had no intention of answering his plea the way he wanted, it actually felt nice to have the attention of a member of the opposite sex for a change.

Truth be told she enjoyed her time with the boy far more than it was appropriate or what she was willing to admit, yet she was completely oblivious of it, always looking for excuses in her mind to justify the fact that she was flirting with a young boy in a bar and enjoyed his almost sad attempts to get into her bed.

Little did Eléonore know that their meetings were improving her mood tremendously and that something like that wouldn't go unnoticed by the people that were the closest to her… Right now in the house of Des Ornières, where Saito and Louise now lived after leaving the magic academy, the two of them were having a little conversation as they were preparing to sleep.

"_Louise…"_

"_What is it Saito?"_

"_I think your sister is sick"_

"_Yes Saito Chii neesama is sick, but you knew that already"_

"_Not her, I mean Eléonore, the other day I found her on the street and she said hi to me"_

"… _well I guess now that you're going to be a part of the family, Eléonore neesama was just trying to be nice"_

_ "I don't know about that, she even called me by my name and didn't said anything degrading about my status or anything, also the expression on her face was something that almost didn't look like a frown"_

_"Well… that's…"_

_ "Come on Louise, you know it's weird, __Eléonore__ isn't someone that just tries to be nice all of the sudden or that calls a commoner by his name out of the blue and I bet you never seen her not frowning "_

Well to be honest Saito was indeed correct, Eléonore's frown was actually quite famous, when she was little, servants of the Vallière house would all try their best to make her smile, yet not even one of them could make her not frown, it was like her face was glued like that, only when she had a sadistic smile on her face (which meant somebody else was in horrible pain) did her expression changed.

_ "Ok you have a point…"_

_ "Yeah, do you think… that maybe she found herself a lover?"_

_ "Eléonore neesama… No way!"_

_ "I know, I found it hard to believe too, but there's definitely something that making her 'not frown' and that's the only reason I can think of… wanna find out?"_

While Louise knew that getting into her sister affairs may very well bring horrible punishment upon them, she decided to act against her better judgment and accept Saito's proposal, sure curiosity killed the cat… but at least the cat died happy

_"Ok, let's do it"_

_ "Perfect, tomorrow we'll follow her after she goes out of her work to find out"_

_ "Ok"_

After that the two love birds joined in the bed to enjoy themselves, sure they had agreed to wait until marriage before actually 'doing it' (by Saito's request surprisingly) but that didn't mean they couldn't play around with each other.

The next day the couple followed Eléonore around without her noticing, after leaving her work she started to walk rather eagerly towards a place Louise and Saito knew quite well…

_"The __Charming Faeries Inn__… ok just what in the world could Eléonore neesama be looking for in a place like this" _Louise just couldn't believe where her sister just went into

_"I just hope she doesn't work here" _Seriously the thought of Eléonore dressed in one of the uniforms they used at this place was enough to make Saito ill.

After sharing a moment of doubt the couple looked at each other, gave themselves a little nod and went in, once inside they quickly sneaked into the back of the place in order to tell Scarron about their mission.

After explaining the situation, Scarron had immediately known about which person they were talking about (not many women visited his establishment after all) and quietly guided them to a place where they could spy on her, once there, they couldn't be more surprised to find Eléonore and a boy considerably younger than her in what seemed to be a date…

_"To be honest Elle chan, your glasses suit you like a glove, they give you this whole mature aura that's pretty attractive"_

_ "See that's exactly why I wear them, I always thought they looked good on me… but they are mainly just for show since my eyesight is not that bad and lately I'm starting to think they make me look… old"_

_ "Let me see…" _After saying those words the boy moved closer towards her, removed her glasses, took a good look at her face, put them back on and moved back to his original place.

_"You look the same with or without them... great"_

'Elle chan'?!, somebody actually called her sister like that and wasn't dead and buried in the following seconds… and what about him touching her face without warning… or consequences, she couldn't do that if she wanted to and she was her little sister.

_"I don't know Al… maybe I just want to change something about myself"_

_ "Why? You are perfect the way you are, I wouldn't change anything about you at all"_

Eléonore blushed slightly and said a little "_Shut up_" before moving on with their conversation, a gesture that reminded Saito of whenever he tried to give Louise a compliment.

As the night progressed both Saito and Louise continued spying on them and the more they listened the more they convinced themselves of what they thought was impossible, Eléonore de la Vallière the untouchable ice queen… was actually falling for someone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Eléonore was furious, it seems that there was a rumor about her… that she was dating a kid younger than her, not only this was a misunderstanding (Al and her were NOT dating) but… what she did with her life was NOT anybody business; ever since she found about the rumor, she became so angry that her coworkers allowed her to get the rest of the day off, in order to prevent her killing someone (or if she did, it wouldn't be one of them).

So she found herself walking without a place to go, it was too early to go to the bar and she wasn't sure if she should go there anymore, she definitely did not want to give the rumor more steam…

_"I swear if I ever caught whoever spread that stupid rumor… he is going to pay…"_

The reason for that interruption was because she just saw something that made her forget all about the rumor and made her depressed enough to want to drink… a lot.

Later, Alphonse came into the bar looking forward to his meeting with Eléonore tonight, he had something important to tell her and wanted to get there before she did, he couldn't do that though as when he arrived he saw her… or at least what seemed to be her all depressed in a chair, surrounded by several bottles of wine, drinking as if there were no tomorrow.

_"Elle chan what's wrong you look terrible" _

_"Nothing…" _She said that in a rather pathetic tone, he had never seen Eléonore like this and he became very worried about her.

_"Of course it's not 'nothing' come on tell me what's wrong with you"_

_ "…I saw him today... My ex fiancé with his new wife…. "_

_ "So… I thought you said you were over that guy"_

_ "That's not my point, she… her wife… was young… probably less than 20, had breasts the size of her head and she looked and talked like an obedient woman that couldn't think her way out of a paper bag without her husband telling her how… in other words she was everything I'm not "_

"Elle chan…."

_ "I mean… is that what replaced me?, it's that what men really want?, Some stupid pretty girl that just do what they say without questioning, a couple of breasts that just sit there looking pretty waiting for them to say the word… I could never be like that…"_

After ending her rant she tried to order another bottle but Alphonse stopped her, she had drank more than enough liquor today and was better off going home, sure to actually convince her of doing that proved to be pretty difficult, but eventually he managed that feat and now they were both out of the bar, walking silently towards Eléonore's home.

_ "I must admit you continue to surprise me, you drank several bottles of wine and you can still walk perfectly, it's like you are immune to it…"_

Alphonse was trying almost desperately to break the ice they had ever since they started walking, Eléonore was very depressed and he wanted to cheer her up at all cost.

_"Al… I'm never going to get married am I…?" _Alphonse tried to answer but she continued as if she wasn't expecting an answer in the first place.

_"You know I hate my life… ever since I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to start my own family, to be a wife, a mother… but… I always had a difficult personality and because of it boys never really got close to me, so I poured all my hopes for marriage into my engagement… but then he came and shattered my dreams… at first I thought I could get over it, I accepted that job in order to distract me, but in the end it only made me feel more miserable… and… you know deep down I always kept the hope within myself, that one day I'd be married to a decent man, I could start a family and search for happiness with him… but now I realized… it's never meant to happen… it's impossible… because I'm just not good enough… "_

He had to interrupt her as he hated seeing her like that.

_ "That's not true, Elle chan, it's true you are a difficult person, but to say that you are no good it's ridiculous I …" _

_ "Lies, you know it's true, there isn't one man in this world that would want me as his wife"_

_ "I would" _he said without hesitation, something that made Eléonore stop to look at him.

_"Hmpf… don't lie, we both know that all you want is a quick tour of my bedroom" _She said coldly

"_Ok I'll admit that was true when we first met, I thought you had this unapproachable aura around you and I wanted to see how far could I get…, but the more I got to know you the more I realized you are far more than a flirt, you are the most unique and interesting woman I ever met… and I'd be honored if you were my wife…"_

Al then hugged her and holding her tight in his embrace he continued.

_"…Because Elle chan… I think I'm in love with you…"_

Eléonore then turned to face him while still in his embrace.

"_You… love me…?_"

_ "Yes, I do, and that's why I can't stand seeing you like this, you know, not all of us want a trophy wife… heck if I wanted someone like that I would have picked one off my mother catalog"_

He had previously mentioned this on one of their conversations, since his mother wanted to have more grandchildren and his older brother wife could only bear two, she was obsessed with him marrying someone and even went as far as to prepare a catalog with potential wife candidates.

"_So what do you think? If I were to propose to you, would you accept me?_"

_"It's not that easy, even if you proposed to me the difference between our status, race and age would get in the way"_

"_And what if I could make them all unimportant… would you then accept me?"_

"_I don't know… I just don't think I can return your feelings… but… if you proposed to me… I'd… probably accept"_

After saying this Eléonore felt his face getting closer, she remained immobile as his lips came into contact with hers… her first kiss… it felt so passionate, her heart nearly stopped as she went weak on her knees and she felt for the first time in a long time that… she was loved… and wanted… she allowed herself to get lost in this feeling and wanted more of it… it was funny she had remained pure until this age for marriage, yet right now… if he said the right words… she might just forget about everything and become his woman… her mother would kill her if she ever heard that.

A few moments later their lips separated and Al created a little distance between their faces, he wanted her to hear his next words carefully.

"_Elle chan listen, I have to go back to Germania for a while, but don't worry, I'll send my proposal to you as soon as I can … so please look forward to it"_

"_Ok... I will wait for it… so don't forget or I'll get mad…" _Eléonore said while trying to recover her characteristic frown.

"_Sure I promise, I won't forget it"_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Eléonore sighted, she was now on a carriage that was heading towards the Vallière state, and together with her were her little sister and her fiancé, the reason for their visit… before the wedding Louise would have to go through a ritual of sorts, nothing more than a family tradition but it was a requirement in order for them to be married properly. What she didn't understand was why it was needed for her to be present? Their parents had asked her to come with Louise, maybe they just wanted to rub in her face the fact that her little sister was getting married before her.

Speaking about that, it had been nearly a month since her last meeting with Al, and she still hadn't heard anything from him… she was beginning to think that it was all a fake…that right now he was in Germania laughing about that older woman that he tricked and even gave her first kiss to him… but if all he wanted was to seduce her and then run away, why just stop with just a kiss?, if he wanted to back then she would have…

The memory of that incident made Eléonore blush madly and broke the daze she was in, she turned around to see the soon to be married couple and found they were both fast asleep, previously they had been fighting the entire trip about something (and she had to listen to the whole thing), apparently she had caught him staring at some maid's breasts rather joyfully, which caused her to get mad… nothing unusual… eventually both of them just seemed to get tired of arguing, forgave each other and fell asleep.

_"Seriously, when they are not arguing they look kind of cute together"_

She had decided to let go of her grudge and wish her sister happiness, just because she was unhappy with her life didn't mean that Louise had to suffer the same fate and if her familiar was the person that she had chosen to spent the rest of her life with, then so be it, she had her older sister's blessing.

Eventually the carriage reached a little house by the road, where her other sister, Cattleya joined them on their trip, it was funny, her bust was rather… massive and you could see just how hard Louise's fiancé was trying to not stare at it for too long. Anyway they exchanged greetings and continued their trip together, after some meaningless chit chat and a couple of ear tweaks for staring at the wrong place, both Louise and Saito fell asleep again. Only then Cattleya dropped her characteristic smiling face and began to whisper in order to not wake them up.

_"__Eléonore, I didn't want to say anything while the two of them were awake so that I would not cause them worry but…__"_

Cattleya's words carried an unusual serious tone around her.

_"I think something big is about to happen"_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "In the past few days a messenger from the queen had been coming several times to meet our parents, but that wouldn't be unusual on its own… the thing is, I saw he was carrying an envelope with the seal of the Germanian royal family on it "_

Now that was unusual, what could the Germanian royal family want with them, sure the Vallière state had borders with their country, but any complains were usually issued by the Zerbst family who owned the land at the other side… wait a minute it couldn't be that… could it.

_"What's wrong sis you look weird"_

Cattleya was far too perceptive and she noticed the slight change in Eléonore frown.

_"It's nothing… you are right that does sound like something big is about to happen"_

After that the two sister started to catch up with each other life, they were pretty close and they usually told each other everything… this time however Eléonore hid the story about his encounters with Al, even when she confronted her about the rumor (That stupid thing even reached her sister's ears) she said nothing, she was just so embarrassed about being tricked by some kid even surrendering her first kiss to him and she didn't want Cattleya to get the wrong impression of her.

After they arrived at the main house, the three sisters were welcomed by their parents on the front door, that alone was a sign that something wasn't quite right, but the thing that bothered her the most was that they were unusually nice to them the whole time… Cattleya was right something big was about to happen.

A little later, the entire family gathered together for dinner, even Saito was allowed to join them this time, it was quite a show, he was trying his best to have perfect manners but eventually would do something wrong or forget what to do next and Louise would come to his rescue as discreetly as she could, hoping that nobody else would notice, they really looked cute together when they were like that.

After the dinner was over their parents got serious all of the sudden (more than usual) and started talking about the thing Cattleya mentioned.

"_We have received a marriage proposal from the Germanian royal family, apparently they want one of you to marry one of their princes and establish an alliance with our country…"_

Louise was surprised enough to interrupt her father.

"_What? Why would they send something like that all of the sudden?"_

"_Let your father finish dear"_

Louise's mother (Karin) scolded her, although not too harshly as she could see where her doubts where coming from.

_"Anyway, the proposal is pretty specific, even stating the date, place and every other possible detail one could think of… they're really serious about this."_

After their father said that, the three sisters remained silent, it was only a few moments later that Cattleya spoke, curious about this whole matter.

_"So… what do we know about this prince? Is he the one that was engaged to the queen?"_

_"No, the one that was to marry the queen was the youngest prince, this proposal comes from his older brother, all we know about him is that he about 20 years old, second in line for the throne and that the queen of Germania had been looking a bride for him for a while"_

Louise began to worry, after all she was the one more fitting to marry a 20 year old as it was really unusual for a man to marry a woman older that he was (and both her sisters were well over that age) and because of that, her parents may think about canceling her engagement… and she would defy them if that happened, Saito was the only man for her and no Germanian, prince or otherwise could change that.

Cattleya noticed her father had forgotten something very important, or maybe he didn't care about it in the first place.

"What about his name? Does he have one?"

"Yes… if I remember correctly is Alphonse"

_ '_Alphonse', after hearing that name Eléonore became really nervous, she already had a good idea of where this whole thing was coming from and if she was right, some uncomfortable explanations might be in order.

Cattleya noticing the subtle change in her older sister's frown, decided to press the issue, ever since their conversation on the carriage, she suspected Eléonore was hiding something from her, and she was going to find what it was.

_"So which one of us does he want? I find it hard to believe that they'd go as far as picking a place and a date without even choosing the bride"_

Her father tried to hide the amusement and surprise on his face, but you could see that he just couldn't believe what he was about to say

_ "You're right dear the letter did specify the bride… but… the thing is…"_

Karin had to finish her husband sentence as he was unable to.

_ "It's Eléonore dear; he wants to marry your sister Eléonore"_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Eléonore was on the spot, after the revelation that she was the one to marry the prince, everyone eyes were on her, waiting for an explanation, yet her mind was drawing a blank and just couldn't think of anything to say… her mother was the first to speak.

_"Well dear, anything you have to say to us?"_

_ "Wh… What do you mean mother?"_

_ "Well, I doubt Germanian princes go around sending extremely detailed marriage proposals to random maidens from other countries… so I think you owe us an explanation"_

_ "Well you see… the thing is…"_

For some reason actually explaining everything to her parents was far more difficult that it should be.

_ "Come on Elle chan don't leave us hanging"_

Saito spoke yet immediately wished he hadn't, having gotten too caught up in the moment he made a mistake that could cost him his life.

_"Elle chan… just how in the world did you know that he called me like that? Wait, were you two spying on me? Because if you were…"_

Bingo… Karin had just gotten what she wanted.

_ "So… just who exactly is 'he'?"_

Eléonore had lost, she also gotten too caught in the moment and made a mistake that gave her mother a window of opportunity to get whatever information she wanted out of her. Completely defeated she had to tell them every little detail about her meetings, the only thing she managed to keep to herself were her feelings about the kiss, her mother would have to kill her before she spoke about that in public.

_"So… you were dating a boy you met in a commoners bar, for some reason you got depressed, he proposed to you, you accepted and then the boy turned to be a prince… and you expect us to believe that story"_

_ "Well… it's the truth"_

Karin was an expert in getting information out of people, so good she had even received an invitation to work on a royal prison once, so she could see her daughter was not lying, she was still hiding something… but she was not lying.

_"Well, that would at least explain a few things I found weird, for an example the church of the wedding is the same as your sister's, so is the date except that yours will be held a few hours before… done on purpose because he knew that Louise marrying first bothered you… how sweet, extremely corny and completely unnecessary, but sweet none the less"_

_ "Well… yeah… he's that kind of person"_

_ "Sigh… ok dear I won't pressure you anymore, you just said that you weren't completely sober when that proposal happened, so I'll give you some time to consider it, you have until tomorrow morning, if you accept you will accompany Louise and me and join us in the ritual"_

_ "Yes mother"_

After that everybody went to their respective rooms, leaving Eléonore alone so that she consider the proposal in peace, while she did that, Saito and Louise were talking about today's revelations.

_"I can't believe the boy we saw that day was a prince, I guess miracles really do happen"_

Louise was surprised about the whole thing and needed to talk about it.

"_I know… I wonder if we are still in trouble."_

"_Seriously Saito, what were you thinking calling __Eléonore neesama like that? you could have gotten us killed__"_

"_Sorry, I guess I screwed up, we should apologize to her tomorrow morning… maybe she'll go easy on us if we do"_

"_I hope, I want to live to see my weeding day you know"_

"_By the way… Louise, you mind if I ask you something? "_

"_What?"_

"_I noticed that before we found out that Eléonore was the chosen one, you were really nervous… are you hiding something from me?" _Saito asked mainly teasing, he knew Louise was incapable of such a thing but he was still curious about why she was nervous

"_No of course not… I just thought that if for some reason I was the chosen one, my parents would cancel our engagement" _Louise was entering her 'sweet' mode as Saito called it

"_So what would you do if that happened?" _he was just being mean now, he knew what her answer would be, but since getting Louise to confess to him was a near traumatic experience, he now liked to hear her feelings whenever he could.

"_Saito… do you remember what I told you when we came to ask my parent for their blessing, that I would marry you regardless of what they said… sure in the end all it took to change their opinion about you was that letter of recommendation you got from… her…"_

Louise got sad for a moment and then continued.

"…_But what I said back then still stands, you are the only man I want in my life and I won't let anything get in between us… because… I love you…"_

Seriously what was he thinking when he told her to wait till marriage, now was such a perfect moment… oh well… their wedding was only a few days for now, so it would be a shame to back down on his promise, and there were still a few things they could do without breaking it…

Meanwhile Eléonore was on her room thinking about what she should do when she heard a knock on her door.

"_Who is it?"_

"_It's me Cattleya, mind if I come in?"_

"_Not at all, come on in"_

Cattleya went into the room, closing the door behind her.

"_Sis, can I ask you a few questions?"_

"_Sure go ahead, ask away" _She had already been asked everything in the afternoon, so now there was nothing that would surprise her.

"_Ok, I'll go straight to the point… do you love this Alphonse person?"_

Ok, that did surprised her

"_I… don't know... I feel different when I'm with him, I feel like I can be myself but… I just don't know if that's love… you know that I was never popular as you were, so I'd never received any attention from a man before, maybe I'm just so desperate for affection that I fell for the first person that gave it to me…"_

Cattleya wanted to say something but Eléonore kept talking.

"_You know, don't tell our mother what I'm about to tell you, but when he kissed me I felt like I could throw it all away and become his woman… "_

"_Mother would kill you if she heard that…"_

"_I know that's why I tried my hardest for her not to notice… but anyway I refused to believe those feeling were a lie, but that was just me being stubborn… I'm not sure if it's really love I'm feeling… but… I want to find out… that's why I decided to accept his proposal"_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"…_We're really sorry, please forgive us"_

Saito and Louise apologized about spying on her… it was not fair, if they did it like that it made it way too hard to get mad at them. Eléonore grabbed their cheeks without any force and pulled them, letting them go before reaching the stretching point.

"_It's ok, I know you did it because you were worried about me, so I won't get mad at you"_

To be honest they did it because they were curious… but who were them to correct her.

"_However… don't EVER do something like that again… Understood"_

"_Yes ma'am." _Both Saito and Louise said in unison, apologizing to her was the scariest thing either of them had ever done, but everything worked out in the end so it was all good.

They were all having breakfast right now, Eléonore had just informed her parents about her decision and they were both happily discussing the details, meanwhile Saito and Louise were doing their little show, only Cattleya remained silent and Eléonore noticed her smile carried a little sadness (just like Cattleya could read her frowns, Eléonore could read her smiles, it was a sisters thing), she tried to ask her what was wrong but her parents kept hogging her attention, asking questions about the wedding.

When breakfast was done, the group prepared to leave, both Saito and Louise's dad would go on their own to have a little talk, whereas Karin, Eléonore and Louise would go and perform the ritual, only Cattleya remained which made the two other sisters uncomfortable, however she refused their invitation to join them, insisting she'd do it when it was appropriated for her, so both groups went to their destination, leaving her behind who couldn't help but feeling sad… and maybe a little jealous.

After performing the ritual (which consisted on paying tribute to their ancestors by praying on the graveyard and bathing on a nearby spring), Karin was leading her daughters towards an seemingly hidden building inside the Vallière state, from the outside it looked like an abandoned house, on the inside however was… a classroom with nothing on it other than a desk, a few chairs and a blackboard with some chalk, the place was perfectly clean thou, Karin probably asked the maids to prepare it in advance.

Both Louise and Eléonore took a seat in front of the blackboard, while Karin seated behind the desk and in front of her daughters.

"_I'm pretty sure you are curious about why are going to do here, the truth is I'm going to give you girls a little lecture…"_

"_A lecture? What kind of lecture"_

Both were curious, what could their mother possibly want to teach them.

"_Don't interrupt me dear, you see, I know that right now you are both really nervous about your wedding night…"_

Ah… great… they were going to have 'that' lecture.

"_I also know that although one of you have been doing naughty things with her boyfriend at night, you purity is still intact in the two most important places"_

Louise blushed so badly it almost looked like she was in pain… seriously how come her mother knew everything.

"_That's because I can read minds dear, anyway I'll be teaching you some tips and techniques that women from our family had been gathering for generations… now don't worry, you won't be doing anything practical, we'll leave that to your respective husbands in your wedding night, so sit back and pay attention as you must memorize everything I say…"_

Several hours later…

"…_And remember to never use any of the things you learned today regularly, you can have favorites and least favorites but you must never, ever fall into a routine, if that were to happen it could be disastrous for your relationship"_

Both sisters were in shock and remained quiet as Karin was erasing the blackboard, they just couldn't believe what they just witnessed, I mean the whole thing was so surreal… had their parents really done all those things?.

_"Yes we did dear… even now we still do most of them" _Karin said with a little blush on her face.

Ok_… _That was definitely way too much information… Wait, was she not kidding with being a mind reader?

_"Anyway, I hope you had memorize everything, because once I leave this classroom, I will never talk about this matter ever again, I'll even deny that this entire lecture took place"_

_ "Don't worry I couldn't forget anything even if I tried" _Both sister said together, the trauma was just too great.

_"Meh.. Don't lie, I know one of you can't wait to put this knowledge into practice, while the other one is wondering if she can bend herself like the most demanding positions require her to do"_

Ok… Stop the mind reading thing already, seriously both girls would never be able to look at her mother the same way as before.

_"You'll both thank me soon enough… another thing, stop worrying about the size of your breasts. Eléonore, you have enough to do everything we just covered without problems, and Louise… look… I know you think they won't grow anymore, but women from our family had always developed really late, your sisters are just the exception to the rule… you know I used to have even less than you when I was your age… "_

"_I know that… but mother that was you, how about if… I'm different?"_

Karin sighted.

_"Ok… I'll give you a secret technique I used back then, I guarantee he'll go crazy with it... come here"_

Louise went near her mother and she whispered something in her ear, for being a secret technique, explanations were over in less than a few minutes.

_"And remember, don't use it to suddenly, he may die from the shock if you do"_

_ "How come she gets a secret technique?" _Eléonore complained.

_ "Dear, if you ever did what I just taught you sister… well that just wouldn't be right"_

Eléonore decided it was best to leave it at that and accept her mother explanation, after all she just wanted to leave that place for good.

_"Oh... and one last thing, don't be satisfied with just the things I taught you today, experiment a lot and find new knowledge that can be passed on to the new generations… you know your father and I invented a few of the things you just learned"_

Karin was blushing again_…_Ok… this whole thing just went from extremely uncomfortable to downright creepy. 

After that, they left the classroom and as soon as she closed the door, their mother reverted back to her regular self, noticing it was already quite late and that they hadn't eaten lunch yet, she quickly lead the group back to the main house so that they could eat… when they arrived everyone couldn't help but noticed just how pale both Louise and Eléonore looked.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

A few days after the ritual, there were now only a couple of days left before the weddings, and it was needed for both Eléonore and her parents to travel towards the royal castle, since hers wouldn't be a regular wedding, some 'negotiations' with the Germanian royal family had to be made before the ceremony, for that reason she was extremely nervous, not only would she meet Al's mother, but also it was her first meeting with him in more than a month.

Just as Eléonore and her parents were busy preparing for their trip, Saito approached Louise as he wanted to ask her something.

_"Aren't you going to see the princess?" _Not so long ago, an incident between Henrietta and Saito had shaken the core of Louise friendship with her and every time they met since then there was an awkward feeling in the air.

_"I can't, I have to prepare for the wedding… and I also promised to take chii neesama's dogs for a walk"_ After saying that Louise walked away, avoiding him just like she always did when Henrietta was mentioned, he felt guilty about the whole thing and wanted the two girls to be the same way they were before.

_"You seem troubled Saito san…"_

Saito turned around surprised to find Cattleya who had witnessed the previous scene.

_"I could listen to your problems if you don't mind"_

"_Sure, I could use some advice…"_

After that, they changed location towards the house backyard, Cattleya had offered her room, but Saito refused, he definitely didn't want to cause a misunderstanding.

_"Ok, I doubt anyone will listen to us here, so you can tell me what's troubling you"_

Saito doubted for a second, what he was going to say wasn't easy but he wanted her advice.

_"You see Cattleya san, a few months before Louise confessed to me I… we were staying in the royal castle, the princess was really sad since her mother wanted her to marry for political reasons, and she came to me seeking for comfort… despite that she had promised Louise that she wouldn't do anything like that again"_

Cattleya was curious about that 'again', but that would be for another day.

_"The thing is, she asked me if she should marry a man she didn't love, and I told her that she shouldn't… then she confessed her feelings for me… then we kissed… and were ready to do more…"_

_ "Do you have feelings for the queen Saito san?"_

_ "…No… it was just my lust that made me do that… I'd never considered leaving Louise for Henrietta… Louise is the only one I love… but you see... the thing is… she saw all of it…" _

_Saito looked miserable, Cattleya could see how remembering that incident pained him._

_ "I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw us kissing… she looked at us like… we had just plunged a knife into her chest… we betrayed her…I mean it was such a clichéd scene… two lovers meeting in secrecy behind her back… then she told us that… it wasn't her place to be there and ran away…"_

Tears were forming on Saito's face as he said those words.

_"I panicked, I told the princess that we were just friends and ran after Louise as fast as I could, but… because of certain reasons I was unable to catch her… I tried looking for her, I searched everywhere but I couldn't find her… it was only then that I realized just how important she was to me… that life without her was not worth living… it was nearly a month later that she came back to me and saved my life"_

Saito took a moment to regain his composure, it seemed that the worst part of the story had passed.

_ "After that I was able to get her to forgive me… eventually she confessed to me and thanks to a letter I managed to convince Henrietta to write, now we're engaged and will marry in a few days, so everything's good between us… sure ever since that incident, her eyes lost that special glow that they used to have when she looked at me… but that's my punishment for hurting her feelings… "_

Saito took a little pause, now it was time to address the problem.

_"The problem is that Henrietta and her still haven't mend their friendship, every time they meet there's this feeling of hostility, and I feel guilty for that… no, it is my fault, if I had been true to my feelings… if I hadn't let my lust controlled me like that… they would still be best friends like they used to… so now I'm trying for them to be friends again to atone for the problems my indecisions caused."_

Cattleya gave a long sigh… it was a complicated problem so she wanted to think things through before giving her advice.

_"Saito san, the friendship between those two is something only they can fix… or destroy… you cannot force them to forgive and forget because you're just ignoring the problem and imposing yourself… that doesn't work… "_

Saito looked at Cattleya's eyes and felt like it was his mother talking to him.

_"Anyway, I recommend you leave them alone and focus on recovering Louise's trust… I believe that's the glow that's missing for her eyes that you mentioned"_

Saito lowered his head.

"_But Louise never really trusted me before..."_

_ "Not true… it's correct that she doubted you whenever she found you with another girl, refusing to listen to your explanations and sure her anger usually got the better of her and made her say things she didn't mean and punish you violently but… didn't you noticed that in the end she always forgave you regardless of the situation… that's because deep down she really thought that you loved her and only her… but now she's not sure about that anymore"_

Cattleya raised Saito's head and moved away.

_"But it's not too late, you can still get het trust back, if she forgave you for cheating on her, it means that she still hasn't given up on you… So… just forget about the princess and concentrate on Louise, after all it would be unforgivable if you made your chosen one unhappy"_

Saito felt relieved, speaking with Cattleya always made him feel better.

_"Thanks Cattleya san, talking to you gave me good idea of what I should do… you'll really make a great mother someday"_

_ "I can only hope you are right."_

As they were leaving, Saito found Louise looking for him, her face looked a little angry and she had several dogs who were trying desperately to run away from her grabbed by a leash.

_"Saito… what were you talking about with chii neesama?" _Yep_… s_he was pissed.

_ "You see Louise we were…" _Saito wasn't sure what to say… this wasn't going to end well.

_ "I asked him about your travels… I figured out that, since you'd been in plenty of adventures with him, he could tell some wonderful stories about them and I was right"_

Cattleya interrupted Saito, surprising Louise who now looked at her.

_"…It can't be… you thought… that I would try to steal him away from you… "_

Little tears were forming on Cattleya's eyes as she said that.

_"No… of course not… chii neesama, I was just curious about it…"_

Cattleya chuckled, she had already made Louise a favor without her knowing and now she wanted to give her a little advice.

_"It's ok Louise I believe you… by the way you should consider letting go more of your leash, they won't try to run away if you do that…"_

Then Cattleya moved past Louise and whispered as she did.

"…_And even if they tried, I'll only hurt them far more in the end…_"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

In the royal castle, Eléonore was waiting for the arrival of her fiancé, it had been more than a month since she last saw him so she was a little nervous, to make matters worse his mother was coming with him, she heard that her future mother in law was obsessed with having more grandchildren, so she may have a problem with Al marrying an older woman.

_"Excuse me… Eléonore san?"_

Eléonore turned around to find who had called her, and found that it was none other than the queen of Tristain herself who was addressing her.

_"Your highness…"_

As she prepared to begin with formalities Henrietta stopped her.

_"There's no need for that now, I just want to ask you something…"_

_ "What is it you highness? I'll answer to the best of my knowledge"_

_"Where are Saito san and Louise Françoise? I've thought they were coming with you"_

_ "Ah… they stayed at home, there were still some preparations for their wedding left"_

_ "I see…"_ Eléonore noticed the queen looked really sad when she said this, however that sadness soon leaved her face, replaced with a fake smile that tried to hide it.

After that Eléonore and her parents were guided to the place her future husband and mother in law where waiting, once they arrived she saw Al for the first time in a month, he still looked as handsome as ever but his prince outfit looked to big on him, when Karin saw him, she whispered into her daughter's ear.

_"He really is a kid… a pretty good looking kid thou."_

After all the formal introductions were done, the queen of Germania went to check her son's future wife, she stared at Eléonore during a while, as you can imagine this made her really nervous.

_"She does look pretty sturdy, the chest is a little small, but it should be able to breastfeed properly… what about here…"_

Then she moved her hands all the way through Eléonore's hips.

_"Yup… they are as strong as they look, this girl won't be having any trouble going through labor"_

Eléonore became angry but managed to hold it back… seriously was the whole grabbing people in delicate places a family thing?

_"Mother please, stop that, you're being rude" _Truth be told, Al knew her mother was seconds away of getting the wrong end of Eléonore's whip… not that he could blame her for that.

The queen of Germania moved back as if she was being scolded.

_"Ah come on Alphonse, you mother was just checking your future wife constitution, I was worried since she is nearing her thirties, there could be some problems… but she passed the test with flying colors."_

After that little incident (where the Germanian queen proved to be every bit as annoying as her son described her to be), the 'negotiations' started, soon it became obvious that her presence wasn't needed in that place so Eléonore went to take a little break on one of the castle balconies.

_"It's been a while Elle chan"_

It seemed that Al had noticed her leaving and followed after her, to be honest she wanted to talk to him in private, but was afraid it may be inappropriate.

_"Sorry I hid the whole prince thing, I just didn't want to call any unwanted attention and I thought you wouldn't believe me anyway" _He made a little bow.

_"Don't worry about that, I understand why you did it."_

After she said that, Al closed the distance between them.

_"You still look as beautiful as ever, no… I think maybe even more"_

Eléonore blushed and could only mutter a little "_shut up_", a gesture he had seen so many times.

_"So… how about me, how do I look? It's the first time you see me in formal clothes so I want to know your opinion."_

_"You look like a kid that stole something out of his father closet…"_

After that little exchange, they began catching up with each other's life, it appeared he had some trouble convincing his mother to marry someone older than he was, but eventually just told her he would marry whoever he wanted… Eléonore realized something, she missed talking with Al, their conversations were just extremely enjoyable… even when both of them were completely sober.

Just as the 'negotiations' were reaching their end, Eléonore made the question she had been meaning to ask for a while.

_"… So tell me, why was a Germanian prince in that bar?"_

_ "Well, you see I was in Tristain for a secret meeting with our ambassador here, and after it was over I just wanted a drink…"_

She looked at him with suspicion as she thought there was another reason for him to be in that place… but… oh well… she had already considered the possibility that he may be experienced with women… after all he was a prince, that title alone was enough to get a few girls… and if he couldn't use it, it also provided enough money to pay for them.

As Eléonore was wondering whether or not she was ok with that (She did NOT like it, but as long as he was faithful to her for now on, she could live with it), Al took the chance to sneak his arms across her waist and hold her in a tight embrace just like the day he proposed to her.

_"I missed you Elle chan… I missed you a lot… this past month all I could think about was seeing you again and holding you like this"_

Eléonore blushed a little…

_"I missed you too… how could you make me wait for so long… I even thought you'd tricked me..."_

Al let go his arms a little so he could face her.

_"I could never do that… because Elle chan what I said back then it's true… I love you…"_

Eléonore felt guilty, she still wasn't sure of her feelings and while she didn't wanted to, she had to tell him how she felt.

_"Al… I love being with you, I can be myself and you'd still accept me… and when I thought you had tricked me I got really sad… but I don't know if I love you… I never loved anyone before so I don't know if these feelings I have for you are love… but… I want to find out…"_

Eléonore took a little pause to clean her eyes as they were full of tears.

"…_Tell me, knowing this… would you still want me as your wife…"_

She looked at him nervously as she awaited his answer.

_"Of course… now more than ever I'm sure that you are the only one for me, don't worry I'll make you realize those feelings are love, and even if they aren't I'll just have to make you fall in love with me"_

After those words had been said, both of them just couldn't hold anymore and shared another kiss, this one was long and peaceful, not as passionate as their first one… but they just needed to feel each other warmth, when it was over, they just remained in each other's arms, and stayed like that until they heard their parents looking for them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

A day before the wedding, Saito, Louise and Cattleya had joined the rest of the group in the royal castle, Henrietta had invited them all to a banquet in order to celebrate the alliance between Tristain and Germania, The whole thing had a serious feel to it, even Saito and Louise didn't perform their usual show, the only one that seemed to be oblivious of the mood was the germanian ambassador.

_ "Seriously darling, I can't believe you and Louise are getting married… to be able to have so much yet settle for so little… it's almost a shame"_

Eléonore had recognized her as one of Louise friends for the academy… Kirche was her name if she remembered correctly…

_ "If the little is what he wants, then there's no shame on that" _Louise answered instead of her fiancé.

_ "Well… I guess if he's really into 'that' then there's no problem…"_

Seriously, was the germanian queen thinking of starting a war when she picked her? ... Wait… was she the one Al had been meeting with the last month?

_"Also Alphonse… so young and marrying already, and with a women older than you, now that really is a sh…"_

Only one of Eléonore's glares was enough to stop her from finishing that sentence… it seemed that her eagle like eyes had been finally putted to good use.

After the banquet, the Vallière family stayed at the castle, Henrietta had insisted they spend the night there and despite Louise protests, their parents had accepted her invitation; once everyone had their room assigned, Cattleya gathered her family in one of the castle meetings rooms.

"_I have a little announcement to make."_

She waited until she had everyone's attention and then continued.

"_After tomorrow weddings I will be leaving to live on my own"_

Everyone became worried, ever since she was born, Cattleya had a weak constitution and it was really dangerous for her to live far away from home.

"_You know… the other day I asked my doctor if my body could withstand going through labor… and she told me that… it was a miracle that I was still alive…"_

Cattleya took a small pause to wipe the little tears that had formed on her face.

"…_That was when I realized, there are still tons of things I want to do before I go, I want to see the world with my own eyes, to find love just like Louise and Eléonore did, maybe I'll even try to become a mother, and I can't do those things if I stay at home… so I will take the risk and search for happiness on my own…"_

The entire room became silent after that, only Karin had the courage to say something.

"_Cattleya, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'll miss you… but if that is your decision then I will respect it… it's the least I can do."_

Karin had always felt guilty about Cattleya's decease, she felt it was her fault for her to be born like that… it was for that reason that Louise was born 8 years after her… she was scared of not doing it right again.

"_Cattleya, you can keep my old house if you like, it's not that much, but I think it'll do just nicely"_

Eléonore supported her sister, sure she was going to be worried about her, but she knew that the thing she always wanted the most was to live using her own strength.

"_Are you sure about that sis?"_

"_Sure, after tomorrow I'll be going to Germania, so it's not like I have a use for that place."_

After that everyone wished the best for Cattleya future, it would be hard for her to live on her own, but they had no doubts that she could make it.

Later that night as they were all sleeping, Saito felt a presence nearby, since Louise was not staying in the same room as he was; he got up quickly to find the intruder… and it was the queen of Tristain herself who had sneaked into his room.

"_Saito san, I'm sorry to come in like this but… I"_

Henrietta was dressed in a nightgown that displayed her assets pretty generously… god she looked so tempting on that thing.

"_I tried to contain myself, I really tried… I supported both of you… I even wrote that letter like you asked me to… but…_"

Henrietta's eyes looked sad… this was how they would always be if she didn't have to fake.

"… _I can't stand this anymore… I can't lie to myself any longer…"_

Henrietta suddenly pushed Saito into the bed.

"_I love you, I really love you"_

She jumped on top of him and began rubbing her breasts on his body, her hands were moving to undress him as well.

"_Please… don't get married tomorrow… stay with me… I beg of you"_

The hands that were moving through his body felt good, her chest rubbing against his felt even better, but…

_"Stop…"_

Saito's arms suddenly moved Henrietta away, she almost fell but managed to recover her balance by standing up.

_"What's wrong? Why…?"_

Saito stood back up, and fixed his clothes before answering her.

_"Sorry… but I can't accept your feelings… "_

She just couldn't believe it… why was he rejecting her?

"_Why? Is my body not your liking? Are you really into 'that' as Kirche said today?"_

_ "No, you have a wonderful body and I fell very attracted to it, but…"_

Saito took a long breath before saying the next words.

_"…I don't love you"_

Henrietta felt as if he just stabbed her, the poor girl nearly fainted.

_"But… why? On that night, we kissed… we could have even done more than that... but… you didn't feel anything…? You don't love me…?"_

She looked so desperate when she said that, it was clear he had hurt her deeply.

"I did feel something… but that wasn't love… it was lust that made me do those things … I'm sorry… I'm really sorry… but…"

Henrietta began crying, her tears made Saito felt miserable… but he had to do this.

"But… the only one I love is Louise…"

The princess slowly fell into her knees, her cries didn't make any noise, she was already used to crying in silence…. Louise was right, he really was a dog, thinking with his other head he had done nothing but hurt the girls that loved him so much.

Suddenly he heard someone crying behind him… and he knew those cries very well … as they were Louise's…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

After the revelation that Louise had witnessed the previous scene, Saito couldn't think of what to do or say so he just remained quiet, it was only after both girls had calmed down a little that one of them spoke.

_"__Louise __Françoise… I'm sorry… you must be thinking that I'm a terrible person but…__"_

Henrietta looked like she was about to cry again

_"…I'm just so jealous of you…. I love him too you know…"_

Louise just remained motionless as she spoke.

_"…Things just never go my way do they? My first love died in my arms and now my second one goes away with my only friend… "_

Henrietta's expression changed, now she looked angry and frustrated.

_"I can't stand it…. You're so lucky and you don't even know it… all those times that you mistreated him and he's still in love with you, it's unbelievable… now tomorrow you'll take him away from me… leaving me alone again… and I not even allowed to cry for that…"_

Louise suddenly hugged her best friend, she wasn't crying anymore, nor was she angry with her, now her voice seemed so calm and soothing that it reminded Saito of Cattleya's.

_"Hime sama… I'm sorry too, I know I must be hard for you to have to swallow your emotions, I know the death of prince Wales still haunts you, I know you feel lonely, I know that you're better for Saito that I am… and I would love to grant you the happiness you want, but…"_

Louise changed positions so that she could see directly into Henrietta's eyes.

_"I can't deny my feelings either… because just like you love him so do I, and I won't hide it anymore, I want to make up for all the bad moments I gave to him… I want to create new memories to replace the old ones… I just want to be happy with him… I'm sorry, I know it's selfish but he's is the only thing I can't give up for you… but you can ask me for anything else, after all… we're friends right?"_

After those words had been said, the princess just couldn't hold her tears and began crying again… Louise was holding her gently with a sad expression on her face; it was a few minutes later that Henrietta calmed down completely and had regained her composure as the queen she was.

"_Louise __Françoise, Saito san; I'm sorry to have showed you such an embarrassing side of myself… I must now take my leave, there will be several representatives of foreign countries tomorrow, and the queen can't look as if she was crying the night before… also… before I leave I would like to wish both of you happiness in your marriage… I think you deserve it_"

Henrietta sighted, she looked kind of relieved.

_"You know it's funny, now that I let it all out, I don't feel so bad anymore, it's like someone just lifted a weight off my shoulders…maybe that was what I needed…"_

After saying those words, the princess took her leave, and as she did both Louise and Saito noticed she carried smile, a real one this time.

The room remained silent, Saito had remained quiet during the entire scene and he still had no idea what to say.

_"Saito…"_

Louise wasn't looking at him, but when she called his name, she turned around and hugged him as strong as she could.

_"Thank you… really, thank you for choosing me…"_

Saito hugged her back.

_"You don't have to thank me you dummy, of course I'd choose you… I'm sorry I did some things that made you doubt my feelings but… I still love you and only you and that's not going to change… ever"_

They remained as they were for a while, just happy to enjoy the warmth they gave each other.

_"Louise, you know, those things you said to Henrietta… they made me realize, that I also wish for the same things as you… Look I know I did some unforgivable things to you as well, and I also want to make it up to you… I want my happiness to be with you, no… it can only be with you and no one else"_

Saito tried to look her in the eyes, but she was pressing her face against his chest.

" _I'm the one that must thank you, you brought me to this world, gave me these powers that made me a hero, and the thing I appreciate the most is… Louise… thank you for giving me the chance to meet you and being your familiar."_

Louise turned to look at him, and he noticed that the special glow in her eyes had come back.

_"So… you don't regret falling for me, and you don't care about all the horrible things I did to you"_

_ "I could never regret falling in love with you… and it was both good and bad memories that made us who we are now… so it's ok, don't worry about it."_

After that they shared a little kiss, they'd love to do more than that but they had to a weeding to attend tomorrow… however as they were preparing to sleep, Saito just had to ask.

_"Louise do you mind if I ask you something?"_

_ "Sure whatever you want"_

_ "Why do you think Henrietta would be better for me than you?"_

_ "Well… she's always been nice to you and … I know you prefer her chest to mine"_

Louise sighted, this was always a delicate topic for her.

_"What makes you say that?"_

_ "Look I know my breasts are not good enough for you, but I c…"_

Ok, it seems that Louise had a little misunderstanding that Saito was more than happy to correct.

_ "That's not true, I love your breasts, they are my favorite among all the women I've ever met"_

_ "Lair, it's true that you don't drool like you used to, but you still stare way to happily at other girl's cleavages far too often"_

_ "So… ok, I'll admit, I like to enjoy the view but that doesn't mean I like them better than yours… look I know it's hard to believe but… other girls breasts I just look and maybe touch if opportunity arises…"_

Louise was frowning.

_"But yours… I'm really obsessed with … I think about them all the time, touch them whenever I can, and also know everything there is to know about them: size, volume, weight, density, shape, taste, locations of every mole, estimated milk capacity, growth rate, expansion and contraction rate under temperature changes, the color, diameter, and height of your nipples whether they're erect or not… everything, I could even draw them with my eyes closed… I wouldn't go that far for any other girl's chest."_

And now she was blushing

_"Saito I can't believe this, you pervert, how c… wait a minute… growth rate?" _

_ "You mean you haven't noticed? This past month your breasts increased their size significantly"_

_ "Well, I did noticed my bras were getting tighter… but I thought that was just wishful thinking"_

_ "Not at all, they have been growing tremendously… you know according to my calculations, you will be passing monmon and your sister Eléonore in a few weeks… and if this keeps up, Siesta in less than six months and maybe even Kirche in about a year… I made a graph about it if you want to see it. "_

Louise was really happy after hearing this, sure she didn't really expect to reach the maid or anyone else bigger than that… but if she could match Eléonore's then it was all right, after all those were enough to do everything her mother taught her without problems.

"So… now you know your breasts are my favorite regardless of size or anything… ok? ... The only thing I'm not sure is whether I prefer the left one or the right one, they're both just so cute and perfect."

Satisfied with his explanation (and maybe a little scared), Louise wished Saito good night as they both went to sleep, tomorrow they would get married… sure in their minds they had been married since that day in Albion, but now it was time to make it official.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

It was finally Eléonore's 'happiest day of her life', to be honest many including herself thought that it would never come, but now she was to get married to a prince from another country, it almost sounded like a dream, so how was the bride feeling in this crucial moment, well… she was panicking, since the wedding happened so suddenly Eléonore had forgotten to consider a really important detail, since Al was a prince, when they marry she would be a princess, she could even become a queen in the future… kind of obvious really but she had just realized that now, and as a result was far much nervous than any other moment in her life.

Her father had already walked her to the altar, and now the priest in front of her was saying a bunch of things that she couldn't understand because she was too busy trying to calm herself.

_"Miss de la Vallière, are you all right?"_

The priest spoke, and she noticed everyone was waiting for her to say something.

_"Yes… sorry what was it again?"_

_ "I asked if you accept this man as your husband."_

Eléonore turned around to see Al standing beside her… chuckling… what a jerk.

_"Yes I do."_

The priest then turned to Al.

_"And you Alphonse take __Eléonore Albertine le Blanc de la _Vallière as your wife?_"_

"_Yes I do."_

The priest then closed his eyes and said the final words.

_"Then by the powers conferred to me, I declare you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride"_

And so they kissed as they were told, Eléonore was a little embarrassed since it was their first time kissing in public, but she enjoyed it anyway… then they quietly leaved the church, but weren't going to enjoy their wedding night right away, not only because it was still 5pm, but because her sister was going to get married in a few hours and of course she wanted to be there.

Meanwhile Saito was waiting outside the church, since Eléonore wedding was already over and his would be starting in a few minutes, he was preparing himself mentally for it, having seen the previous wedding he already had a good idea what to do, by the way, he had to admit Eléonore looked stunning in that dress, her beauty almost matched his fiancé's.

_"Saito san, do you have a moment?"_

Saito turned around to see who was calling him, and found Siesta, who was wearing a pink dress instead of her regular maid clothes, she looked wonderful as well.

_"Hi Siesta, What's wrong?"_

_ "I just want to inform you that after the wedding is over, I'll be resigning my job as your personal maid and will be going back to work in the magic academy."_

To be honest Saito was not surprised by her decision, ever since his engagement, Siesta had been really depressed, even Louise became worried about her.

_"Well, you'll be missed, but I understand, I wish you the best of lucks."_

While her decision saddened him, he knew Siesta didn't deserve to be second to anyone and was better finding someone who loved her as he loved Louise … truth be told, if Louise didn't exist, he could have been that person.

_"I'll write you some letters, maybe even pay you guys a visit every now and then, ok? So don't think this is goodbye."_

She had a sad smile on her face as she said this.

_"Of course it's not, I'll be looking forward to them."_

After that she gave him a polite bow, and proceeded to enter into the church, soon he went inside as well, his bride was ready and he had to wait for her on the altar.

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity had passed, his future father in law appeared with his bride… god… the sight of Louise on her wedding dress was completely magnificent, forget anything he said before, Louise was by a mile the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the memory of her in that dress would remain in his heart forever... stupid world doesn't even have cameras, he'd kill for one now.

While he was on his daze, Louise had walked through the altar and was now on his side, she took him by the hand bringing back to earth, and proceeded to give the final steps to the altar together, the priest began with his speech, however neither of them were listening, they were both so happy to be finally married that they just wanted to get over with the ceremony.

Finally, the priest made the questions they wanted to hear:

_"Do you Louise take Saito Chevalier De Hiraga Des Ornières as your husband?"_

_ "Yes, I do"_

_ "And do you Saito take__Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière as your wife__?__"_

_ "Yes, I do"_

_"Then by the powers conferred to me, I declare you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride"_

And so… they did and finally Louise and Saito had given the final step on their relationship, they were sure there would be tough times ahead (there always were), but they were also sure they could find the happiness they yearned together.

After the wedding as the now married couple was leaving the church, they found the other newlyweds and their family who were waiting for them.

_"Eléonore neesama, I thought you were gone already."_

Eléonore then grabbed Louise's cheek one last time.

_"Of course not, tonight we'll be staying in my old house, and we'll be parting tomorrow so I could stay without problems... there's no way I would miss my little sister wedding."_

She let go of Louise cheek.

_"Thanks a lot oneesama!"_

They would be going early tomorrow so they had to say their goodbyes today.

_"Bye bye sis, thank you for the house and everything else you've done for me. "_

Cattleya looked tired, being the maid of honor of two weddings in row had taken its toll on her.

_"Goodbye oneesama, I'll miss you, thank you for everything."_

Louise was on the verge of crying.

_"Bye bye __Eléonore san.__"_

Even Saito said his farewells, he didn't have too many good memories of her, but he'll miss her.

_"Goodbye my dear daughter, take care of yourself."_

Her father had tears on his eyes.

_"I wish you the best in your life dear, don't forget to write."_

Karin was holding her tears back as she said this.

_ "Well, I would like to thank all of you for supporting me, tomorrow I'll be gone, but I'll send letters and probably visit whenever I can… so goodbye everyone"_

When all the goodbyes had been said, Eléonore took a carriage with Al that would take them home, Louise and Saito did the same thing, it was now time for the newlyweds to enjoy their wedding night.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

It was the night after the weeding, and Eléonore was staring at the ceiling of her room, they had just consummated their marriage and she had to admit… it was amazing, sure it hurt a little in the beginning but later it felt great, like she could blow up at any second and in the end she exploded which such strength and intensity that... Anyway, seriously the fact that he was 'experienced' came as a blessing in disguise but the thing that made it so great was her mother 'lecture', thanks to that she could guide him to places that… get into positions that… well let's just say that it had been a wonderful experience and she was looking forward to repeat it in the future.

However she was curious, it had been great for her, but what about him, her mother warned her that just because she liked it, didn't mean that he had too, plus she wanted to know about how it compared to his previous experiences… she turned around to find him with his eyes lost in the ceiling just like hers were just a few second ago.

_"Al, can I talk to you for a second?"_

He turned around to see her and she noticed he had a big smile on his face.

_"What is it sweetie?"_

Sweetie…? Never mind that, she just had to ask.

_"I was wondering… how was it? Did you like it?"_

Al suddenly got on top of her, and looked at her directly in the eyes.

_"Like it? ... It was superb, I have to admit you surprised me, I kind of expected it to be just 'good' until you got the hang of it… but it was magnificent, seriously the best"_

He sounded way too excited and his eyes were looking at her with a mix of curiosity and lust.

_"Tell me, just where did you learned all that stuff you did… I know for a fact that this was your first time, so there's no way its experience… and even if it were I doubt even 20 years of practice could teach someone all that…"_

She doubted for a minute, but in order to avoid a misunderstanding it was better to tell him.

_"Well…I'll tell but you have to keep it secret."_

_ "Of course… I wouldn't want to go around telling people that my wife is this good… it might give them weird ideas… and I definitely don't want that."_

Eléonore blushed a little and moved her eyes away from his.

_"You see my mother gave me and Louise a little 'lecture' before we got married, it contained secrets that women from our family had been gathering for generations, it was actually pretty extensive, we haven't even scratched the surface of all the things we can do…"_

Al was about to snap at her words, yet he managed to say something before he did.

_"Honey, you father is a very lucky man, that Saito guy is lucky too, every man that has ever married a woman of your family is pretty lucky as well… but none of them is as lucky as me… now show me some more of that 'lecture' will ya…"_

It seemed that Eléonore's wish of repeating the experience would become reality sooner that she expected… they were going to be late to the carriage… not that they cared…

The next morning several carriages were in front of Eléonore's house waiting for them to begin their travel to Germania.

_"Come on love birds… time to go."_

The queen of Germania herself was calling for them.

_"But if you are 'planting the seeds' I don't mind waiting a little more."_

Good to see she hadn't changed after their marriage, Al opened the front door of the house with all their luggage carried with magic and Eléonore only a few steps behind him.

_"Mother please, not in public."_

_ "Never mind that dear, anyway you and Elle chan go in that carriage, your luggage goes in that one, I'll be going in that other one with Kirche who's returning to Germania with us."_

Not wanting to wait another second they boarded the carriage, luckily it was a normal one, knowing his mother Al kind of expected one with a bed on it… and just like that they were now on route to Al motherland… since they were alone Eléonore wanted to ask him a few things.

_"Al honey, please tell me about your family"_

Al turned around completely caught off guard that she called him honey.

_"Well… we are three brothers plus my parents, but the only ones living in the castle right now are me, my mother, my older brother, his wife and their two kids."_

Al then got serious all of the sudden, maybe she struck a nerve?

_"You see my father the 'king' is far too busy in the army… no, to tell the truth it's Alfred that does all the job, while all he's doing is playing around with his mistresses, getting drunk, and leaving mother alone to rot…"_

Yep she definitely struck a nerve with that question.

_"The worst part is that everybody knows it, even her; right now there is plenty of opposition to his rule and he doesn't even care… he won't even cede the crown to Albert because then he wouldn't have an excuse to not be home anymore, as a result well, me and my brothers have to work extra hard to clean up his mess and mother now feels lonely and want tons of grandchildren as a result."_

Al noticed he had gotten too carried away and regained his composure.

_ "But enough about him, you already meet my mother and there is also my little brother Alfred he is in the army right now keeping things under control, my older brother Albert and his wife Elizabeth, they are really nice people I'm sure you'll like them when you meet them, and my nephews are really cute, I can't wait to show them to you."_

Eléonore was surprised, she knew some people in Tristain had problems with having a queen so young, but she'd never heard of problems at the other side of the border…"_grass is always greener at the other side_" she thought.

After that they kept talking about all the problems that afflicted Germania, Al thought that it was best she knew this things in advance, it seemed that there were several factions against the king and while most of them just wanted his older brother taking the crown, there were rumors that some of were aiming to dissolve the monarchy completely; now that she knew all this, she just had to ask something she was afraid of.

_"How about me? I doubt the news of one of the princes marrying an older woman from another country would be received well._ "

Al sighted.

_"You're partially correct, there was some public opposition but most people just couldn't care any less of what I do… I'm not really as popular as my brothers are… if for some reason Albert couldn't take the crown chances are that Alfred would be the one the people would want as king."_

Had she struck yet another nerve? No… somehow it didn't seemed like she did

_"To be honest, I'm perfectly ok with that, I just don't want to be king… too much responsibility, I'm no good with that."_

Eléonore breathed a sigh of relief.

_"It's ok, I don't want to be a queen either for similar reasons, I just don't like to stand out"_

Al chuckled a little… that was just so like her.

_"Then I guess we are the same…"_

After that they continued on their journey, now Eléonore knew that it wasn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows for now on… but somehow she was sure everything was going to work out in the end.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

After several days of travel, the newlyweds finally reached their destination, the Germanian capital, it seems that what Al said about him not being popular was true, there wasn't any commotion or anything that celebrated the return of a prince, to be honest while she was little relieved with that, it also surprised her just how indifferent people were to him.

Once they arrived at the royal castle, they were received by several servants as well as two people that stood out among the rest; Eléonore assumed they were Al's brother and his wife, the future king and queen of this country.

_"Welcome home brother, mother and Kirche san, nice to see you returned safely."_

The prince was the first to greet the arriving party, immediately after he went to where Eléonore was, luckily it seemed that he wasn't going to grab her breast or hips or anything else.

_"You must be Eléonore san, I'm Albert and this is my wife Elizabeth, it's a pleasure to meet the women that finally made my brother get married."_

_ "Likewise, it's a pleasure to meet you Albert sama."_

She made a little bow to show her respect.

_"Never mind the formalities, we are family, you can call me Albert."_

_ "Yes.. Ok Albert…"_ Eléonore nodded.

And just like that Eléonore's life in Germania began, at first it was hard to accustomed to her new home, first thing she noticed was that they treated the servants far more friendly that in Tristain, "When in Romalia, do as Romalians do" she thought and began treating them just as they did here, she even knew the name of most of them and some she could even call friends.

Another thing she noticed was that despite living in the same place, she barely saw her brother in law and his wife, while he was always busy with his duties, Elizabeth was tending their children (which by the way, were as cute as Al described them to be, she just couldn't wait to have her own), and if they had some spare time they usually spend it as couple, mostly alone but every once in a while they drank tea with the whole family.

The queen on her side, was usually unoccupied, so she had tons of time to nag Eléonore about her future grandchildren, at first she only asked whether or not they had been "planting seeds" the night before, later she became even more annoying, demanding that Eléonore reported the dates of her periods (in order to keep a detailed schedule of which days were more fertile), and even gave her several "Aphrodisiacs" that more often than not sent the couple to the bathroom rather than the bedroom… well except for those that looked like plain white cookies… those were so good Eléonore even asked her for the recipe… they really didn't need them right now, but they might come handy in the future (I mean those things did lock them up in their room for almost half a day).

She was also taking a few cooking classes with the queen, as it was the only way that she would leave her alone about her private life, and to be honest she kind of enjoy it, they mainly did pastries and it was kind of fun to prepare a cake or something else, take it to Al, watch him eat it, and get praised because it tasted good, according to the queen she was really talented and could even be good enough to be a royal baker if she kept practicing.

In the end however, most of her time was spent with Al (or Alphonse as she had to call him to prevent confusion), usually in his office since tradition required her to accompany him as he worked, to make matters worse both his brothers took care of both the army and the people, while Al was to take care of… paperwork, and god he was slow at it, he would take an eternity to read the whole thing and she just had to stand there looking pretty while he did it (the irony was killing her), but not anymore, she was going to help him, he wanted or not.

_"Alphonse honey, let me take a look at those papers will you?"_

She took a little portion of the papers on the desk and began reading them, without even waiting for his answer.

_"Elle chan… I don't think that's…"_

She placed the papers back on the table and said a little _"done" _before taking another pile.

_"What you read them already?" _She just read in 2 seconds what would have taken him 20 minutes.

_"Yeah, didn't I told you I was good at my old job, that was mostly paperwork as well… done"_

Ok he definitely hadn't noticed that.

_"So what do you say, I could sit over there bored out of my mind for the whole day or we could finish this job in a few minutes and go on with our lives, you know I really think we should spend more time together…" _She got really close to him and whispered on his ear "_I need you… " _he just nodded and happily accepted.

Ever since that day, they usually finished all the work before noon, and spent the rest of the day together, whether it was in cooking class, drinking some tea, 'planting seeds', having a conversation or anything else, Eléonore just loved to be with him, she had yet to accept her feelings… but it was getting more and more clear for her that she was in love with him.

Unfortunately not everything was perfect, there were several people that made her stay far less pleasant, mainly officers of the royal army, while she had yet to meet Al's little brother, his subordinates sure spent a lot of time in the castle complaining about… well anything.

_"Your majesty, I believe that you should take action and seize the crown yourself."_

Today was General Bismarck turn, he was obsessed with the idea of Albert making a coup d'état to his father.

_"That would only make things worse, the people will lose all the confidence on the royal family if we do that."_

_"But your majesty, the king had damaged the reputation of the royal house already, it would only be for the best if we…"_

_"Enough… I'll take the crown when it's appropriate"_

_ "Yes… I understand."_

The general took his leave after saying these words, he looked angry and frustrated, to be honest she didn't liked that guy, and of all the officers that paraded around the castle, he was the one that she hated the most, and there were even rumors she heard for the servants that he was the one behind one of the factions that desired the end of the monarchy.

As he was going out, he noticed Eléonore was looking at him and just couldn't resist the temptation of wasting his anger on her.

_"So you must be the prince Alphonse new wife… seriously why did the prince had to marry someone from another country, at least he could have picked one that was a little younger and with a bigger che…"_

Eléonore glared at him as strong as she could, and that alone was enough for him to shut up and leave the castle as fast as he could… seriously, who would have thought that the eyes that prevented her (among other things) for getting a boyfriend for so long could be so useful.

Anyway, bad things aside, she was really enjoying her life at the castle, being a princess was way too different to what she had anticipated, kind of fun even, her new family was nice and kind (her mother in law was little annoying from time to time, but she was nice too), and to be honest she wished things remained as they were.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Six months after the weeding, Eléonore was now in her old house back in Tristain, Cattleya had invited her and the whole family as she had an important announcement, she had been weary of whether or not it was appropriate to leave the castle so soon, but Al told her there was no problem and even send her back on the Ostland, which was why it only took her a day to reach their destination this time.

Anyway, she was now with Saito, Louise and Cattleya waiting for the arrival of their mother (their father couldn't come because he had a business meeting), by the way she had to admit, both Saito and Louise looked more… grown up, and she wasn't just talking about Louise chest (which was now way bigger than hers) but the whole atmosphere around them changed, now they acted more like the young adults that they were supposed to be, long gone were the pervert that would stare at the first pair of breasts that got in his way (now he just took quick looks that lasted less than a second) and the loud girl that would punish him when he did (now she just glared at him and that was enough to scold him), overall it looked like the couple was finally taking things seriously.

Cattleya on her end looked really nervous, her smile carried a certain sadness and fear on it, she couldn't figure out what could be troubling her sister, but she would know what is was when her mother appeared.

Karin arrived later that day, as soon as she arrived, Cattleya quickly gathered everyone in the living room and closed the door so that people outside couldn't listen.

_"Everyone, I want to thank you for coming today."_

Everybody was kind of nervous, she sounded way too serious about this.

_"The truth is… I'm… you see a couple of months ago I meet someone special. "_

She took a little pause before continuing.

"_We fell in love of each other and… well unfortunately he just like me had a weak body… and his time came before mine…"_

Cattleya's words were filled with sadness, you could see tears forming on her face.

"_But before he perished, we… consummated our love a few times… and the thing is… I'm pregnant with his baby."_

When she said this, the whole room stayed silent, it seemed that she was going to cry, but managed not to and continued.

"_You're probably thinking the worse about me… look, I know is inappropriate for someone to do that before marriage, I know this could cause a horrible scandal… I know that my life is in danger and it would be best for me to not have my baby… but I will not end the life inside me, he'll be born at all cost… even my life."_

Cattleya had closed her eyes to prevent tears from falling, yet they were forced open when both her sisters and her mother hugged her at the same time.

"_If its chii neesama, then I'm not worried, because I know everything will be all right, you have my support" _Louise eyes were filled with tears as she spoke her honest feelings.

"_Chibi Louise is right, there is no one I know that is stronger than you, and I know you'll make a great mother for him" _Eléonore eyes were filled with tears too.

"_...It'd always been my dream to have grandchildren from all my daughters, but they won't be any good if you are gone, Cattleya you have to present him to me in your arms… if you don't then I'll never forgive you."_ Karin was also on the verge of crying.

"_Thanks, mother, Louise, Eléonore I… really…appreciate… 'Sniff'… your feelings… 'Sniff'." _

As soon as Cattleya said those words, both the sisters and their mother couldn't hold back their tears anymore, Saito was teary as well, even the servants that were eavesdropping had been shaken by the scene and were crying too.

After a while there wasn't any sadness left and only the joy of the coming of a new family member remained.

"_I can't believe you get to become a mother before me, I'm so jealous."_

Eléonore was serious, she had been trying for six months without results and Cattleya got it right with just a few times.

"_I can't wait for him to be born and have my first nephew, I bet he is going to be way too cute."_

Louise was overjoyed, while she and Saito had decided to take things calmly and just accept it when it came, she was secretly hoping that it wouldn't take too long before it happened, and the news of her becoming an aunt so soon was encouraging.

"_Crap… I'm gonna be a grandma…I'm seriously getting old now"_

Even Karin had dropped her serious attitude and was enjoying the moment tremendously, sure her age was increasing … but who cares… to be honest she thought this moment would never come.

"_Well dear, I'll be taking you with me back home and I won't take no for an answer, I want to take special care of you and that's not going to be possible if you stay here, so go pack your things, we'll leave right away."_

Cattleya gave a quick nod, but before she went, there was a question that needed to be asked.

_"Mother… what about dad? How will we tell him the news?"_

_ "Don't worry about that dear, I'll tell him, and don't worry about scandals either, I'll kill whoever speaks ill of you."_

Before continuing Karin also had a rather difficult question for her.

_"Dear… about your baby's father…"_

Cattleya sighted, she knew she'd ask about him eventually so it was better to do this soon.

_"His name was Henry… he was such a fine gentleman and I loved him very much… I still do…"_

Karin just nodded.

_"I know, if you chose him he must have been a great person, I would have loved to meet him."_

Cattleya was a little teary, she didn't answer and instead just walked to get her things, soon she packed everything and they both left, the rest of the group stayed for a while discussing the revelations of the day, later when it was getting late and Eléonore was preparing to leave and go back to the castle, the germanian ambassador arrived on the house.

_"Saito, Louise, Elle chan…"_

She was out of breath and panicking, they got her a seat and some water so she could calm herself.

_"So what is it? What happened? "_

Everyone had a really bad feeling about this.

_"It's horrible, there was a rebellion in Germania..."_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

After the terrible news had been given, Saito, Louise and Kirche went to the royal castle to see what information they could gather about the incident, Eléonore had insisted in accompany them, but they refused arguing it was better for her to stay in the house and rest, for that reason she was currently awaiting for their return… calmly, ever since she was a child, she was taught to remain always calm in these kind of situations, sure she couldn't deny she was worried… but panic attacks wouldn't do any good.

Several hours went by, and there were only a few minutes before midnight when Saito and Louise returned to the house… Eléonore was quick to notice they had a terrible atmosphere around them.

_"We're back oneesama…"_

Louise called for her with a weak voice, maybe she didn't wanted to wake her up if she was asleep, but it sounded more like she didn't want to meet her.

_"Chibi Louise, Saito kun… welcome back…"_

There was an awkward silence where no one dared to say a word, only Saito had the courage to break it.

_"Eléonore san… we found out all we could about the rebellion, and… well… "_

Saito took a little pause to order his thoughts, he didn't want to make a mistake.

_"The rebellion was carried out yesterday morning, a few hours after your departure to be precise, it seems they closed all lines of communication, and that's why we didn't find out about it until today."_

_ "I see… what about the rebels? Do we know anything about them?" _Eléonore remained unfazed, much to the couple surprise.

_"Well, it seems some general that goes by the name of Bismarck it's their leader, the rest are just soldiers and officers under his command."_

_ "I see… that general… I always thought there was something suspicious about him… how about the timing, why wait till I was gone?" _Eléonore was as calm as ever, her regular frown was still in place and showed no signs of unrest.

_"Well… we think it could be the _Ostland_, you see it's a powerful airship and it was under direct command of the royal family, they could have used it to fight back… but since it was here, nothing could be done… the rebels have already contacted the queen and asked her to give it back. "_

Wait did that mean that… the incident was her fault… Eléonore façade was beginning to crumble, despite that you couldn't had guess if you saw her.

_"I see… that makes sense… how about our response, are we going to just allow them to do what they want?"_

Saito took a long breath.

_"Well…Right now Tristain isn't on a position to fight, the army is extremely weakened thanks to all the wars lately, so the queen has decided it is best to take a neutral positions on this affair, other nations had taken the same stand about this problem… so apparently yes, we are going to do nothing."_

What? ... Were they really just going to stay there and not do anything? … Wait Eléonore calmed herself, it was the same position all nations took during the Albion civil war, so it shouldn't come as a surprise… 'She had to remain calm', she repeated herself that mantra… because it was the only thing preventing her for breaking down completely.

"_I see… what about…" _Eléonore took a little pause, she had avoided the following question till now… she was afraid of the answer… but she had to know "_what about the royal family? What is known about them?"_

Saito made a little pause, he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he had to tell her.

"_Well…The king was executed this morning… it seems the rest of the family escaped thanks to the help of several servants, and one of the princes that stayed behind to lure the enemy."_

Eléonore had a horrible feeling about this, but she kept repeating her mantra, as long as she remained calm, everything would be alright.

"_Eléonore san… the prince that stayed behind… was your husband… and they have already announced the date of his execution… "_

As soon as she heard this Eléonore shattered, she tried to control it, she really did, but without her realizing a torrent of tears were descending over her face… she tried to wipe them off, but even more came in their place… when she realized that it was impossible to control her emotions any longer she tried to excuse herself, but no words came out, only little sobs that were becoming more loud and frequent, as her frown dissolved, she ran to her room and locked herself in, she began calling for him… she needed him… that was when she realized… she was in love with him, she was unsure before… but it was clear as water now… that idiot… he had promised to be with her until the end… how could he leave her alone like this… her cries became more and more intense until they were as loud as they could, she kept crying despite there were no more tears coming out… soon she just couldn't stand the pain anymore and passed out in her old bed.

Saito and Louise where still in the living room, they had witnessed Eléonore breakdown and remained quiet as long as they heard her cries in the distance… they both looked at each other with sadness on their faces…. It was only when the cries stopped completely that Louise spoke.

"_Saito… I have to ask you a favor."_

"_No need… I already know what we have to do… I even talked to Kirche and she should be making preparations as we speak, if everything goes smoothly we'll leave tomorrow night."_

"_Are you sure? … Hime sama ordered us to stay put and even said she would keep an eye on us."_

"_That didn't stop us when it was about Tabitha and it won't stop us now either."_

"'_Chuckle'… that's the Saito I love…"_

Louise gave Saito a kiss on the lips, soon she would give him more than that… tomorrow they were going to Germania to stop a rebellion, so they might as well enjoy themselves today … by the way she had to admit even though her breasts had increased their size a lot recently, Saito still fondled them with the same love, care and intensity as he always did, he was definitely telling the truth about hers being his favorites…

Later, there was only an hour left to noon when Eléonore woke up, her eyes were red for crying too much, her hair was a mess and she looked terrible overall, as she was trying to fix her appearance there was a knock on the door.

_"Onesama… it's me, Louise… mind if I come in."_

She unlocked the door and said a little "_come in_", when she entered Louise was shocked by the state of her sister, she had always looked at her as a role model, a strong woman that would remain cool, calm and collected in the face of adversity no matter how terrible… so seeing her like this… so vulnerable and pitiful was almost heartbreaking, she offered to comb her hair and surprisingly she accepted, when she finished, it was time to inform her of their plan.

_"Oneesama… tonight Saito, Kirche and me will be going to Germania to help stop the rebellion…"_

Eléonore turned around to face her.

_"Ok, I'm going with you."_

Now that was easy, she thought that it would be necessary to convince her to even allow them to go and not only she was ok with it but wanted to go too?… _"But oneesama, we'll be acting against the queen's orders and…"_

Louise stooped as Eléonore glared at her with her regular frown back in place, her eyes had recovered their regular color and there were no traces of the pathetic state she was a few minutes ago… it seemed that her strong and dependable sister was back.

_"As a Germanian princess I couldn't care any less about what the queen of Tristain has to say… there is just no way I'm going to stay here while some pathetic old man turns me into a widow, I'm going to stop that stupid rebellion and rescue that good for nothing husband of mine… I have to tell him several important things and he needs to be punished for making me worry about him."_

Yep… she was back… and god help us… she was pissed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

A few days after their departure, the group was now nearing the location of one of the royal army camps, crossing the border had been far too easy, since the Vallière state had borders with Germania, and Kirche was member of the Zerbst family who owned the land at the other side.

Thanks to her the they were also able to get information about the whereabouts of the royal family, it seemed that the queen, Prince Albert, his wife and sons were in a camp father away from the battlefield, and the one they were approaching was were prince Alfred had been hiding… Al's younger brother, while he never visited the castle in the time she was there, Al told her that he was a prodigy among generals and that was why he was in charge of the army at such a young age (he wasn't even in his twenties yet.)

After looking for several hours they finally managed to find the place, it was hidden inside a forest, it seemed they were ready to retake the city as the camp was only a few hours away from the capital and the soldiers inside looked like they were getting ready to fight.

When they arrived, Kirche identified herself and that seemed to be enough to open the gates of the place, once inside the prince himself came to greet them, it was funny, he looked like a younger version of Al, so it was like seeing a high school junior commanding an army.

"_Dear cousin, I'm so happy to see you are well, to be honest ever since I heard you were coming I became really worried, but it seems it wasn't necessary."_

"_Alfred Darling, of course I'm fine, you wouldn't think a few rebels could stop me from seeing you right?"_

After that little exchange they gave each other a hug that seemed far too passionate to be just a hug between cousins… wait a minute… 'Darling'… didn't she used to call Saito like that, and that teacher for the academy too… oh well how many 'Darlings' Kirche had and what she did with them wasn't anybody business.

When the hug was over, they separated themselves and Kirche whispered something into the prince ear (… it seemed as if she said "_I'll see you tonight_" but who knows for sure…) he just gave her a quick nod with a grin on his face and turned his attention to the rest of the group who took the chance to introduce themselves.

"_I´m Saito Hiraga, nice to meet you."_

"_I'm Louise de Hiraga, it is an honor to meet you your majesty."_

They both gave a polite bow.

"_You mean the hero who fought against the entire Albion army by himself, and the void mage who destroyed an entire airship fleet with just a spell… wow, it is an honor to count with your help in this war…"_

Louise and Saito both sweat dropped, it was obvious that with all the things they´d done that they would gain a little fame, but being treated as celebrities was just too uncomfortable. After shaking their hands with far too much enthusiasm, the prince directed his attention to the last member of the party, Eléonore took the chance to introduce herself.

"_I'm Eléonore de Germania… nice to meet you… brother in law"_

"_So... You are my brother's wife…"_

The prince stayed silent for a while and it seemed that he was lost in thought for a second…

"_I'm sorry your majesty… it seems it was because the Ostland took me home that this whole rebellion happened, I…"_

The prince snapped back to reality as she said these words.

"… _oh no… I apologize for my rudeness… I wasn't thinking bad things about you or anything… I was just surprised to see you here, I never had the chance to meet you and I was just thinking you look just like my brother's type and… "_

The prince calmed himself and took a little breath.

"_Anyway… it is a pleasure to meet you Eléonore san_… and I'm the one who has to apologize, the Ostland would have leaved the country sooner or later… it was my own carelessness that lead to this whole mess… and thanks to that my brother is now on such a situation._"_

Eléonore remained silent… after that the whole group was lead to the war tent; it seems they had interrupted a meeting between the generals.

"_Gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption… anyway, as I was saying, I understand that laying siege to the city would probably be the most efficient course of action, but I just don't think that is the right thing to do, the people of the city will hate us and might even side with the rebels… there is also my brother… he is in this situation because of my own incompetence… and we own him the lives of the rest of my family… so I just can't leave him to die."_

The generals nodded… it seemed like a few of them weren't totally convinced but they all nodded none the less.

"_The plan I propose is this, I have secured a route into the city, we can probably move between 30 and 40 soldiers inside the walls, while the execution takes places, chances are the old man will give one of his long boring speeches, during that time most of the guards will be placed towards the city walls, so we will take that chance and 'disable' several important members of the rebellion, meanwhile another group will have to infiltrate and open the city door, then when that happens and there is no one to give orders, the rest of the group will rescue my brother."_

One of the generals spoke.

"_But your highness… it is suicidal, I understand It would be possible to enter the city, and even dispose of several rebel leaders… but the door won't be taken with such a small force, you just said it would be the best guarded place."_

The prince nodded and continued as if he had already thought of that.

"_That is partial correct, while it is truth that most guards will be on the door, they'll be expecting an attack from the outside, so it will be possible to surprise them from the inside… we'll even place an army that will act as a decoy nearby, that way the guards will be distracted and they can attack when the door is open."_

The general still looked unconvinced.

"_We also count with the help of Saito san and his wife, they are the people I talked about before, they are the best among the tristanian army and they offered their help on this mission."_

Suddenly the generals calmed themselves and actually seemed to be agreeing with the prince, it seemed Saito and Louise were pretty famous around here… no doubt because of Kirche advertising.

"_So, besides them, I'll go too and we can pick the best of the army to participate, I know a few soldiers that will be perfect for this mission, I'll notify them right away and… "_

"_I'll go too."_

Eléonore proclaimed as if it was already set in stone, the prince however disagreed.

"_But Eléonore san it will be a dan…" _(Glare) _"It'll be a pleasure to have you with us on this mission."_

"_Also, I want to be on the team that rescues my husband."_

"_Well, while I can understand you position, I don't think is a good idea…" _(Glare)_ "Ok you'll be on that team."_

Eléonore gave herself a satisfied nod, she understood the risk the plan had, if one of the other teams failed Al was as good as dead… so in case that happened she would try to rescue him at all cost… by herself if she had to.

Alfred on his part could only think to himself… _"Yep, she definitely is my brother's type… he always seemed to like mature, demanding and dominating bitc… Eh… ladies…"_


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

It was finally the day of the execution, all the teams were already in position and were waiting for the signal to start the plan, Eléonore was currently standing near the execution platform, she had been forced to dress in commoners clothes in order to blend in with the crowd, this coupled with the heat, and that she had been standing in that place for several hours made her extremely angry… well that she was in her husband execution was probably the main reason, but the other things didn't exactly help.

A little time past noon, the people on the execution platform began to move and after a while they brought the prisoner for today show… god, the sight of her husband almost famished and severally beaten was something Eléonore was not prepared to see… her poor Al, she would definitely punish the bastards that did this to him.

After that, Al was put on the platform, the executioner, a large man with a black mask on his face kicked him behind the knees in order for him to kneel down and get into the guillotine, Eléonore was almost to the point of just blowing everything off, however she calmed down when she saw the sign that the operation had begun, a simple hand wave from one of the balconies indicated that one of the leaders had already been 'disposed of' and that prince Alfred was already active.

Then it was time for the old man to arrive, he came into the platform with his head all high, and took his time to look at the crowd that had gathered in front of the platform, it seemed the prince was right and he was going to give a speech.

"_My dear germanian brothers, the time have finally come to get rid of that useless royal family…"_

'_Useless' _the brothers all worked hard to keep the country peaceful and prosper, yet all this old man did was whining about anything that he didn't like…

"_Not so long ago, we brought divine justice to the king who didn't care about his people. Today, we will get rid of the prince who for so long ignored his duty and did nothing for this country wellbeing."_

What the… Al worked just as hard as everyone to help the country… sure he did mostly paper work… but that was because it was something that no one else wanted to do, he took the worst possible job that he was terrible at, and allowed his brothers to be loved by the people while he did nothing but sign a mountain of papers each day…. But he really thought that his work was making a difference, and it was, he contributed far more than this stupid old man.

The sneak attack on the door had already started and several leaders had been disposed of already, but there was still a little time before her team had to act... however Just as the speech continued Eléonore suddenly just couldn't hold it anymore and began walking towards the platform… maybe it was because all the guards were paying attention to the speech, maybe it was because she looked like a demon, but she managed to make her way into the execution platform without problems.

"_This prince even had the nerve to marry a woman for another country, as if germanian women weren't good enough for him; he had to marry that flat chested hag…"_

Suddenly the general stopped talking as the crow went silent, Eléonore was standing behind him, and let's just say that if looks could kill, everyone on the city would be dead. As the old man turned to see what made the crowd quiet, he was greeted with a nice kick on the family jewels, as he fell into his knees from the pain, Eléonore gave a little speech on her own.

"_Who are you calling flat chested you stupid old man, for your information Al is very happy with my breasts and he enjoys them a lot whenever he can… not that is any of your business, you impotent waste of breathing air."_

The general looked at her with a face that spelled _'how did you knew that?' _then he tried to look around to seek for help, however everyone he saw was paralyzed by fear and couldn't even move, as he tried desperately to run away, Eléonore forced him to stand up before delivering the final blow.

"_You stupid old man, you know just how hard it was for me to find a good man to marry at my age? … As if I would just let you take my beloved away from me that easy you bastard. "_

Eléonore then gave the general a right jab to his face, she could fell his chin shattering as she did… god it felt good… anyway the old man flew several meters before landing into the crowd (apparently still alive, unfortunately.) Eléonore then turned to the executioner, the large man shivered, as in her eyes there wasn't just your typical anime anger fire, but rather the flames of hell itself that were staring at him.

"_Untie him… NOW!"_

The executioner almost… no wait he did wet his pants when she spoke to him, he obeyed her orders and then fled the scene as fast as he could, She helped his husband stand up and held him between her arms.

"_You idiot, what did you think you were doing? How could you try to leave me alone?"_

Eléonore slapped him but without much strength behind it…

"_Ouch, honey it wasn't my fault, I just wanted to…"_

"_No excuses, you have to be punished for making me worry about you…"_

As Al was preparing to receive another slap, she kissed him instead, it was a passionate kiss completely oblivious of the fact that they were in the middle of enemy territory without any means of escaping… but she didn't care about such trivial things.

"_Listen, you can't leave me yet, we have so many things to do, places to visit and children to make… but the most important thing is I still haven't said something to you…"_

Eléonore blushed redder that he had ever seen her and then yelled at the top of her lungs.

"_I LOVE YOU!!!"_

As she said this the door to the city was open suddenly and the royal army entered the place, thanks to the fact that most of the rebel soldiers were too stunned for the previous scene, the battle was over quickly and there were barely any casualties on either side.

Of course Eléonore and Al were oblivious of this as they had locked into another kiss… you know if it wasn't because he collapsed after that, they probably would have ended 'making children' immediately after.

After the battle was over, Eléonore was resting with Al on a room in a captured inn on the city, as Saito, Louise, Kirche and Alfred discussed the events of the day in the lobby of said inn.

"_I just can't believe what happened today… your sister it just as awesome as you Miss Hiraga, I mean to singlehandedly rescue my brother and do so without being hurt or causing a single casualty… she didn't even had to cast a spell, it was amazing."_

Louise was blushing red and remained quiet; it was Saito who spoke next.

"_Yeah, I was pretty surprised to find out I didn't marry the scariest sister."_

"_Hey… That was pretty obvious… I'm not that scary…" _Louise pouted.

Saito chuckled a little and gave Louise a little kiss on her cheek. _"Well you majesty, I hope you understand but me and my wife are tired from today battle and we would like to take a rest."_

The prince nodded _"Sure, I'll take care of things here, but before you go, I would like to thank you as well, it's true that it was Eléonore san who gave us such an easy victory, but without your help we couldn't had succeeded either."_

"_No problem, the attack on the door was a piece of cake… now if you excuse us."_

Saito and Louise took their leave, they also stayed in one of the rooms of the inn.

"_Well dear cousin, I have to admit, those people were as amazing as you said they were."_

"_Didn't I tell you darling 'chuckle', anyway what happens now?"_

"_Well, since the leaders are down, I expect the rebellion to surrender as the news spreads, so everything should be peaceful and back to normal in about a month or so."_

Kirche gave a little sigh "_I wasn't talking about that dummy, I mean… if you didn't noticed Saito and Louise just went to make love, and Elle chan and Alphonse will probably do it when they wake up if they haven't already… so how about us?… you aren't going to leave me alone tonight… right?_"

Alfred chuckled and whispered into her ear "_Of course not._"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

It had been nearly a month since the rebellion ended and things in Germania were almost back to normal. Eléonore and Al were currently sleeping in their bedroom on the royal castle, today was an important day, as it was the coronation of the new king.

Eléonore woke up first, as she was preparing to leave the bed, she felt a couple of arms sneak inside her nightgown, grabbing her breasts just like they did when they first met.

_"Good morning honey."_

Al kissed her in the neck.

_"Morning… you know you really have to stop groping me every morning."_

_ "Why? As you said I'm very happy with them… so I can enjoy them whenever I want. "_

Eléonore blushed madly, what was she thinking saying such embarrassing things out loud? Al let go of them and slowly turn her around until she was facing him.

"_But more importantly... I know it gets you in the mood to…"_

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of one of the servants.

"_Your majesty, the prince is waiting for you in the throne room, the ceremony will begin in less than half an hour."_

Al sighted and dismissed the servant at the other side of the door, he grabbed Eléonore and pulled her toward him and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"_It seems we will have to wait till tonight… so come on, hurry up and get dressed!"_

"_That was what I was planning to do before you interrupted me! ..."_ She made a little _'hmpf' _noise and turned her head away from him. _" It seems that someone will have to be punished tonight." _

"_Great, now I definitely can't wait."_

Eléonore turned her head back towards him and gave him another kiss before finally getting off the bed, as they were getting dressed, Al was speaking about the ceremony.

" _I can't believe Albert finally gets to be a king… you know there are still quite a few detractors that think the country would be better with me or Alfred in the throne."_

"_Really, I thought you said you weren't popular enough to get a supporting faction."_

Al chuckled "_Well you see... It's not like they want me as king, that's just needed to have you as a queen… it seems you're pretty popular now, and ever since that incident everybody knows who actually wears the pants in our relationship_"

Eléonore blushed again… seriously, ever since that day it seems everybody had taken the chore of reminding her about it every chance they got… oh well, it might had been embarrassing, but she didn't regret a single thing she did.

After they got dressed the couple leaved for the ceremony, it was over rather quick and even prince Albert speech was a little on the short side, it seems that they just wanted to get over it and move on… not that she could blame them, the country had been a mess for the past month and it was needed to have a crowned king in order to completely restore it to its original peaceful state.

During the celebration, the couple found Saito and Louise in the dance hall, they had remained in the country for the past month, helping however they could so that peace could be restored.

"_Good morning, Louise, Saito san."_

"_Ah… good morning Eléonore neesama, Alphonse sama, we haven't seen you since the day after the battle for the capital, so we were wondering about your recovery."_

It had taken nearly a month for Al to completely recover after the torture he had to endure, luckily, there was no permanent damage and he was perfectly fine now,

"_I'm fine thank you, since your sister nursed me every day I managed to recover pretty quickly, she can be so sweet when she tries."_

Eléonore pouted, Al hugged her and kissed her cheek which made her embarrassed and blush all shades of red.

"_Yep, I know that, if she is anything like Louise, she usually acts like she doesn't care but when it matters the most, she is the sweetest girl in the whole world"_

Louise pouted, Saito hugged her and kissed her cheek which made her embarrassed and blush all shades of red

Both guys laughed a little while they respective wives frowned.

"_By the way, tomorrow we'll be going back to Tristain, we really would like to stay, but we have to get back to our lives there… you know, we also have 'things to do, places to visit and children to make'."_

Saito chuckled, while Al had to hug Eléonore tighter so she wouldn't kill him.

"_Are you sure? I heard from Kirche that you helped us against the orders of your queen, we would be honored to offer you asylum in Germania and even a title and properties as a thank you present."_

"_There is no need to worry, we just received a letter from the queen and it seems there won't be consequences for our actions… I guess since we are in pretty good terms with her and we are now heroes in this country as well as our own, she won't do anything too drastic… I'm still expecting an ear pull thou"_

"_Well that's good to hear, but you know if anything happens you can always count with our help, and I'm not talking just as a germanian prince."_

As the party came to an end, Saito and Louise excused themselves, they had a long travel ahead of them and they probably wanted to rest, before they went to their bedroom, Eléonore gave Louise a little box as a gift, inside there were half a dozen plain white cookies she had baked and a note with instructions on it:

_ "Dear Louise"._

_ "Give one of these cookies to you husband and eat one yourself when you are alone with him"_

"_I wanted to give you these as thanks for helping me save my new home and keeping my husband in one peace… I'll warn you these things are very powerful so be careful when you eat them, make sure to be completely alone and have at least half a day to spare."_

"_PD: I can give you more if you want, you can also have the recipe… it's actually a state secret, but since you helped me a lot, I think I can make an exception."_

While Louise was curious about what her sister could mean with the cookies being _'too powerful' _that could wait until they were back at home.

When the couple finally leaved, Eléonore and Al moved themselves to one of the balconies of the castle, they just wanted to be alone for a while.

"_Elle chan… I want to tell you something…"_

Eléonore nodded giving him permission to say want he wanted.

_"You see… the thing is… I still haven't said it… back when I was captured, I almost gave up hope, but the thought of seeing you again kept me going, and when I saw you in the platform that day… I was so happy… what I want to say is, Elle chan thank you for saving my life" _Al moved himself closer and gave Eléonore a warm and tender kiss.

_"Dummy, there is nothing to thank me for… you know when I thought I was going to lose you I panicked, I even cried until I had no more tears… but that was when I realized just how important you are to me… that I couldn't allow for you be taken away… that I love you… you're the most important person in the world for me… so please… don't ever leave me alone again…"_

Eléonore hugged him as strong as she could, he returned her hug and for while they remained in that embrace, after a few minutes had passed, she raised her head and looked at him with eyes full with need and desire, understanding what she meant, Al quietly asked her _"Shall we retire for today?" _she just nodded and quietly followed his lead towards their bedroom.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

Several months had passed since the rebellion, and Eléonore was now in the Vallière state, it was time for Cattleya to give birth to her nephew and of course she wanted to be there, unfortunately, her sister weak constitution had made the past few months really dangerous for her, she had been bedridden since the seventh month and could barely move since the past week, to be honest most people had the horrible feeling she wouldn't make it, but despite all that she was still smiling as she always did.

Right now, the three sisters and their mother were gathered in Cattleya's room, there should still be a week left before the birth, but ever since she found out about her daughter pregnancy, Karin decided to play it safe an hired the best midwife in the country (Maria was her name) to assist Cattleya exclusively for the whole year, she also had to pay her extra for keeping her mouth shut, you see, in order to avoid scandals, they had to made it look as if Karin was the one pregnant (kind of funny when you considered her age and that lately… Err… never mind).

Both her an Cattleya had been hiding for the past months and only a few trusted servants knew about the situation (luckily Karin was just as good in getting people to keep quiet as she was at making them speak), the plan was simple, after she gave birth, Karin would register the child as her own and then give the custody to Cattleya, arguing that her daughter condition made having children too dangerous and she wanted her to know the wonders of motherhood.

Surprisingly it was Cattleya herself who proposed this plan, she said that she had already caused enough trouble for the family and she would be happy just by having her baby and being his mother despite what any piece of paper could say… she really was an angel.

"_Mother… you think we're going to be fine?" _Despite her smiles, you could see just how worried she was.

Karin tried to smile as she did, but unfortunately she wasn't good at faking _"of course you will dear, forget about what the doctors said, those incompetents fools didn't thought you'd live past your teens, what do they know about anything?."_

Cattleya wasn't really convinced by her mother's words, she lowered her head so that nobody could see her worried expression, seeing this, Louise moved closer to her sister so she could try to calm her.

"_Chii neesama, I know you are worried… but look at the bright side, once he's born, you can finally have him in your arms, think about all the stuff you are going to do with him, the things you'll teach him, how much you'll spoil him, I know you can be the best mother for your baby as you were like a mother for me too… "_

Cattleya smiled, but she still had some uneasiness on her face… oh well if her mother ramblings and Louise beautiful words didn't took her worries away then perhaps a joke would help her feel better.

"_Yes Cattleya, you are going to be a great mother… at the very least that child will never be hungry" _Eléonore poked one of her sister's breasts slightly_ "You have enough milk in these jugs to feed a dozen babies, but you are only getting one, he is going to grow fat if you're not careful."_ The joke seemed to work as Cattleya and everybody else in the room laughed out loud.

"'_Chuckle' Sis… 'Chuckle'… don't make laugh… 'Laugh' it hurts…"_

Suddenly Cattleya stopped laughing and got really serious as she turned to her mother.

"_Mother… I think I just broke water… he's ready to come out…"_

Everyone stopped laughing… before panic could break loose, Karin took control of the situation.

"_Ok dear, it's finally here, your long awaited baby is finally here… Louise, go get Maria san, she should be resting in her room, also get some servants to bring you hot water, cold drinkable water and some towels" _Louise said an _'ok'_ and ran as fast as she could._ "Eléonore I want you to stay near your sister, hold her hands and try to keep her relaxed, awake and responding at all times, understood."_

"_Yes mother" _Eléonore took her place at her sister side, grabbed her hands and tried to get her to relax (hard to do when she was almost panicking, but there was no way she could let her knew that).

Soon after, the contractions began, Cattleya was screaming at the top of her lungs, the pain was just too great, Eléonore was trying her best to keep her sister relaxed but that was almost impossible as the contractions were happening more often, she had lost some blood and the situation was looking worst as it went on.

Fortunately, it seemed she became completely dilated faster than normal and after a few hours she was finally ready to push… thank god it was almost over, Cattleya looked way too tired and weak… Eléonore whispered to her ear _"You are almost done" _As she gave her some cold water to drink before she started pushing.

As she pushed Cattleya looked like she was about to die… but despite all the pain, she was smiling, no doubt because she knew her baby would be born soon… after what seemed to be an eternity Maria finally declared _'it came out…'_ not precisely the words one would expect to hear in a moment like this, but who cares.

As Karin and Maria were bathing and preparing the baby, Cattleya grew weaker and Eléonore noticed in horror how the hands that had nearly broke hers a few moments ago were losing their strength rapidly, she looked like she had trouble staying awake and if Eléonore had to describe how her sister looked right now… she looked like… well let not get into that.

Karin moved fast, and brought the baby near his mother as quickly as she could. _"Congratulations dear, you had a beautiful baby boy."_

Cattleya looked at the baby confused, it seemed like she couldn't completely acknowledge the situation, she seemed to be losing consciousness as her eyes were slowly closing … but they were forced open when the silence in the room was suddenly broken by the cries of the new family member… it seemed he was calling for his mother.

As if they were responding that call, the arms that had lost all their strength suddenly moved again towards her baby, she looked at her mother in the eyes, Karin recognized what she wanted and gave her grandchild to her, Cattleya carried her baby in her arms for the first time, she played with him, talking to him and caressing his body, after a while she seemed to have regained most of her vitality.

"_Mother…" _Karin moved closer to her daughter so she wouldn't have to raise her voice. _"When you found out I was pregnant, you told me I should present you my son in my own arms… well here he is… my little Henry…" _Karin nodded while everybody else on the room breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Cattleya looked at Henry with such tenderness, the kind that only exists between a mother and her child "_He looks just like his father, and I'm sure he'll be a great man just like he was…_" Henry looked at her mother and laughed, as he did tears began gathering on Cattleya's eyes… the sad memories of the loss of her beloved, the fear she felt for the past months, the great joy of holding her son and being able to be there for him from now on… she just couldn't hold the tears back anymore and cried silently…

After a while Eléonore and Louise leaved the room, it seems they were a few things left to do, but Karin and Maria could take care of them and it was better if they just let Cattleya and the baby rest.

"_I can't believe it, I nearly got a heart attack back there… I thought she wouldn't make it" _

"_Idiot, of course she was going to be fine, Cattleya is not that weak." _Eléonore sighted. _"I can't blame you thou, when I thought we were losing her, I really feared the worse…"_

Louise smiled "_I know, thankfully little Henry call for his mother brought her back… I'll never forget that moment as long as I live."_

"_Neither will I." _both sisters looked at each other and chuckled_._

"Both you girls look way too happy… I'll see if you're laughing when it's your turn in a few months." Karin was coming out of the room, despite her harsh words she was all smiles. _"Seriously, all my daughters getting pregnant so close to each other… I'm going to waste all the family fortune buying presents and traveling around. "_

Yep, Louise and Eléonore were both pregnant now, Louise only had a couple of months while Eléonore was already entering her sixth, needless to say both fathers were extremely happy about this development.

"_Anyway, right now your sister and Henry chan are resting, and I suggest we all do the same, Maria san is with her and she will call us if anything happens"_

Karin seated near her daughters, they began talking about what the future of Cattleya and Henry could hold, but despite all their doubts and fears, there was one thing they were sure, the worst part was already over, and the best was yet to come for them.


	20. Chapter 20

Well this is it… the final chapter… I wanted to say thanks to all the people that have been reading this story, I really appreciate that you took some of your time to read my work and I hope you enjoy the last chapter… when I first posted this I was kind of nervous since this was my first fanfic and I'm not all that confident on my English, but while there hasn't been many reviews, they've all been pretty positive so far, so it's encouraging to keep writing and improving my stories...

Well, enough talk… here is the final chapter of "Eléonore in love".

* * *

Chapter 20:

Nearly a month had passed since little Henry's birth, right now Eléonore was with Cattleya in her room, she had just finished feeding her son and he was now sleeping in his cradle, his mother gave him a little kiss on his forehead so he'd sleep peacefully. Then she turned to Eléonore whispering so she would not disturb Henry's sleep.

_"So, what is it sis? What can I do for you?"_

Eléonore whispered as well _"I've come to say goodbye, I would love to stay and give birth here, but apparently tradition dictates that any member of the royal family has to be born in Germania."_

_"I see…"_ Cattleya looked sad and disappointed _"Well, I guess there is no helping it… I'll miss you sis."_

_ "I'll miss you too… but don't worry when he's old enough to travel, I'll bring him here so that he, Henry chan and Louise's child can play together."_

_ "That's great… I'll visit you as well, it would be unfair if you're the only one that does it."_

_ "Of course, you are welcome to visit us whenever you want, but… what about your health?"_

_ "Don't worry about that, ever since Henry was born I've been feeling great, better than ever… now that I have to take care of him I don't have time to get sick anymore." _Cattleya smiled and made a little pose to show she was healthy.

_"Well, I don't really understand… but I guess I'll do in a couple of months."_

Both sisters chuckled as quietly as they could and then hugged each other, they said their goodbyes and Eléonore leaved the room, it was true that Cattleya was the healthiest she had ever been, but she still needed to rest.

After that Eléonore went to the living room that was closest to the door of the house, Al should be here any moment now and she was already done packing, inside the living room, she found Louise who seemed to be looking for her.

_"Eléonore neesama… so you're really leaving…" _Louise looked sad.

Eléonore made as if she was going to grab her cheek but ended up hugging her instead. "Yes, I've to go… but don't think this is goodbye, I'll visit you whenever I can."

She let go of her sister who now looked a little better, they talked for a while and suddenly Louise blushed as she had something to thank her sister for.

_"Oneesama… thanks for the recipe… we don't really need them right now, but they might come handy in the future… those cookies kept us busy for almost half a day..."_

Eléonore chuckled, that excuse sounded really familiar, but she knew Louise had been taking cooking classes for a reason. _"Don't worry about it, just remember you can't give that recipe or those cookies to anyone, I'll punish you if you do."_

Louise nodded "_Of course not… It'd be disastrous if either of those fell into the wrong hands._"

Eléonore nodded as well, now that the warnings had been given, she had to ask Louise a question. _"Louise… you know something has been bothering me for a while…"_

_ "What is it?" _Louise was puzzled, what could it be?

_"What was that secret technique that mother taught you...?"_

Louise blushed as red as it was possible, she hesitated but decided it was ok to tell her, she went near her sister and whispered something into her ear, after explanations were done, she took some distance from Eléonore.

_ "That was it…? No wonder mother said it wouldn't be right if I did something like that… And you say it worked…? Who would have thought that your husband was really into 'that'."_

Eléonore laughed as Louise blushed redder than even before, a few moments later as if they had called him Saito entered the room completely oblivious of the situation.

_"Good morning _Eléonore san, I was told you are leaving today._"_

_ "Yes, that is correct, I've to go back home… But before I go…Saito kun I wanted to apologize to you… I know I must have been terrible when we first met, but that was because I completely misjudged you, now I know you're a great person regardless of your status." _Eléonore bowed politely.

Saito felt a little embarrassed _"Meh, don't worry about it, I accept your apologies …" _He even blushed a little_ "Anyway, Eléonore san, I would love to stay here and chat, but me and my wife have to get ready, we'll also be going back home today."_

_ "I understand, I wish you both the best of lucks."_

_ "Thanks, I also wish the best for you." _Saito then grabbed Louise and carried her princess style, as he was leaving the room she barely had time to say a little "_Goodbye oneesama._" before they were gone completely.

Eléonore sighted, now that she had said her goodbyes to her sisters, only her parents remained, luckily they both entered the room not too long after that.

_"Well my dear Eléonore, I guess this is goodbye for now."_

Her father hugged her… something he didn't do all that often.

_"Goodbye dear, remember I'll be visiting in a month or so, I want to be with you when the time comes… I'd go with you right now, but I still haven't taught your sister all she needs to know." _Karin hugged her as well.

"_It's ok mother, I understand." _As she said those words, one of the servants came to inform them of the arrival of the carriage, it seemed it was time for her to go back to Germania, she said her goodbyes to her parents and moved towards the front yard where Al was waiting for her, they parted immediately as they had to be back home as soon as possible.

As they were on the carriage, Al was telling Eléonore about what had happened in her absence.

_"Albert and Elizabeth are fine, ever since they were crowned they have even more work than before, but they can manage."_

_ "I see, that great to hear, How about your mother? Is she still angry because we didn't let her declare the day she found out I was pregnant a national holiday?"_

_ "Nah... She just found herself a new toy, it seems Alfred has a mysterious girlfriend nobody knew about and of course, mother is already pestering him about meeting her and them getting married."_

Eléonore had a good idea who that mysterious girlfriend could be, but like she said before, what those two did, was none of her business.

_"By the way Elle chan, you know, I was thinking about our child, and I noticed we're going to have a problem when he grows up."_ Al sounded unusually serious, but he had a grin on his face.

_"What could it be?" _Eléonore looked puzzled.

_"Well… you see when he ask us about how did we met… am I supposed to tell him that I met his mother in a commoners bar, while she was drunk and having a midlife crisis?"_

What the… that jerk… oh well fortunately she knew exactly how to get back at him.

_"Sure… should I also tell him what that bar really was and that his father was there looking for some 'paid company'? How about the way he groped me when we first met? "_

Al sweat dropped but maintained his usual smile. _"So… you're saying we should lie and tell him we met at a dance party or something?"_

_ "Sounds like a plan."_

They both laughed, and then Al brought his wife and future mother of his kids closer, he held her in his arms and noticed the soft smile that was on her face.

_"Honey, can I ask you something? For real this time." _Al looked directly into her eyes.

_ "Sure anything you want."_

_"I noticed that back when I first met you, there was always this frown on your face, but ever since you confessed to me, you have been smiling a lot… so what I want to ask you is… are you happy with things the way there are now?"_

Eléonore gave him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen as she answered his question.

_"Of course I am… back then I was just frustrated because my life sucked… but now I have everything I ever wanted… you and our child that's on his way" _Eléonore was blushing madly… _"How about you… are you happy?"_

_"I couldn't be any happier either… I just love you so much."_

"_I love you too."_

Al lifted her chin, as she followed his lead they both shared a kiss that was so warm and tender yet passionate at the same time, they embraced each other tightly not wanting to let go, after all they went through, it seemed they could finally live their life in peace… a peace they hoped would last forever .


End file.
